BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
A FARM wrangle between former Finance deputy minister Terence Mukupe and 600 Goromonzi farmers has opened a can of worms with the Local Government ministry saying the disputed piece of land was legally allocated to the ex-minister.
Last week, Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs minister Aplonia Munzverengi visited Mt Olympus Farm, also known as KwaProton, where she assured the farmers that they would not be evicted, urging those seeking land for residential purposes to look “elsewhere”.
Mukupe, through his company Farmtel Investments, has been in running battles with the farmers and has been trying to evict them and use the piece of land for residential purposes.
The matter is currently at the High Court under HC3527/19.
According to a notice of opposition signed by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing secretary George Magosvongwe dated May 8, Mukupe was allocated the land by government after it was converted for urban development.
“The farm was converted from agricultural land to urban land. The offer letters which the applicants refer to automatically fell away the moment the land was converted for urban development. In fact, the third respondent (Local Government ministry) is in the process of withdrawing them.
“The land was legally allocated to the first (Farmtel Investments) and second (Mukupe) respondent as developers for the land. This allocation was done after the land was officially handed over to the third respondent,” Magosvongwe wrote. The notice of opposition was filed after the farmers had approached the High Court, seeking an interdict on Mukupe who was evicting them from the farm.
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A total of 324 farmers are holders of government offer letters, while more than 200 have been staying at Mt Olympus Farm in Goromonzi North without any documentation.
The farmers, who have been resisting eviction had stayed on the farm since 2000 until 2010 when they were given offer letters.
Magosvongwe added that the farmers in the area were told that their stay was temporary and hence, they should not erect permanent structures.
“The applicants were allocated the land in question for agricultural purposes and on temporary basis by the district administrator and a lands officer for Goromonzi district. The applicants were supposed not to have erected any permanent structures on the land as the permits were on temporary basis only,” Magosvongwe wrote.
Munzverengi said the disputed land falls under Mashonaland East province and that it will not be turned into a residential area, saying those harbouring such ambitions should adopt the Chinese style of erecting storey buildings to save land.
“Do we have to say that the whole country is turned into residential stands, while we have farmers who don’t even need relief assistance like these? I was in China, those who want to occupy land for stands should adopt the style of erecting storey buildings to save land,” Munzverengi said.
