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NewsDay

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Guzah neglecting constituency: Mliswa

Politics
Norton MP, Temba Mliswa yesterday lampooned his Hurungwe West successor, Keith Guzah for allegedly abandoning the constituency since his election in June last year.

Norton MP, Temba Mliswa yesterday lampooned his Hurungwe West successor, Keith Guzah for allegedly abandoning the constituency since his election in June last year.

BY VENERANDA LANGA/OBEY MANAYITI

Contributing to debate during the Second Reading Stage of the Land Commission Bill, Mliswa raised a point of order with the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mabel Chinomona, saying Guzah must attend to his constituents, as they still approached him with their problems.

Mliswa also clashed with Chegutu West MP, Dexter Nduna and later accused Zanu PF ministers of owning multiple farms.

“The farms are in the names of their grandchildren, and I have data and evidence that I will soon reveal to expose these bigwigs,” he said.

In its report on the Land Commission Bill, the Christopher Chitindi-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands recommended that the commission should be fully independent. It said the selection criteria for commissioners should be transparent, as it was currently shrouded in secrecy.

The committee said land disputes needed to be depoliticised, while urging corrupt land officials to be removed.

The report said during public hearings on the Bill, members of the public complained of politicisation of the land issue by powerful people, desecration of sacred land due to chaotic land allocations, resettling of people in wildlife areas and grazing land, congestion, discrimination of women and the disabled in allocations, and other issues including corrupt land officials.

In his Second Reading speech on the Bill, Lands minister Douglas Mombeshora said the law would give powers to the Land Commission to resolve land disputes, as well as repeal colonial land laws such as the Rural Land Act and the Agricultural Land Development Act.

He said to date 12,5 million hectares of land had been distributed with 245 000 indigenous farmers replacing 6 000 white farmers.

Meanwhile, Mutasa Central MP, Trevor Saruwaka, was for the third time, yesterday blocked from entering Parliament building because of his jacket, whose colours are similar to the national flag’s.

The access denial comes at a time when Saruwaka is waiting to hear the High Court’s decision on an urgent application against Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, whom he wants stopped from interfering with his dressing.