×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Govt finally embarks on national land audit

News
GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Lands, will this month embark on a massive national land audit.

GOVERNMENT, through the Ministry of Lands, will this month embark on a massive national land audit exercise after the programme had been indefinitely shelved due to financial constraints. BY Jairos Saunyama

Addressing journalists in Marondera last Thursday, Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs minister Joel Biggie Matiza said the audit would begin in his province before it is rolled out to other provinces.

“The land audit will begin in two weeks’ time nationwide, but they will start with Mashonaland East province. After that, we will now be able to know the exact number of farms or land that should be redistributed to the people,” Matiza said. “What we have done in this province is an assessment so that we relieve the pressure. Much of land here has not been redistributed and pressure is mounting from people who want the land. In this province, we already gave the chiefs some land, then war veterans and we are now looking into women, youth, civil servants and diplomats.”

The land audit seeks to redress various issues, among them land disputes, cases of multiple farm ownership, account for land that is being underutilised as well as investigate reports that some resettled farmers were leasing out their farms to white former commercial farmers.

Sometime last year, Lands and Rural Resettlement minister Douglas Mombeshora revealed that his ministry had secured $7 million from the European Union and United Nations Development Fund to carry out a two-year land audit programme.

Meanwhile, about 250 families in Mashonaland East province have benefited from an accelerated land distribution programme between January and March.

“We are currently processing offer letters for 250 land beneficiaries. When I came in as Resident minister, I had to structure things in a way that saw every district in the province being represented in the 250 beneficiaries,” Matiza said.

Since his appointment following the conclusion of the emotive Zanu PF congress late last year and the subsequent Cabinet shake-up, Matiza embarked on a whirlwind acceleration of land redistribution exercise that saw chiefs and war veterans getting land.