Zimbabwe National Pensioners Forum Trust (ZNPFT) chairman Winos Dube has raised concern over the government’s property title deeds re-registration exercise, saying the costs involved are beyond the reach of many pensioners and elderly citizens.
Speaking in an interview, Dube said pensioners were worried about reports that homeowners may be required to pay fees of US$100 or more to have their title deeds migrated into a new system.
“There are so many concerns coming from many quarters, especially from elderly people and pensioners,” said Dube, who Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson.
“We acquired these properties when we were still working and able to raise money, but today pensioners are crying because they are not getting enough to sustain themselves.”
He questioned how elderly citizens, many surviving on meagre pensions, would afford the charges.
“The big question we are posing to the government is: are they considering where pensioners are expected to get this money?” he said.
Keep Reading
- Uproar over council bills
- BCC engages AfDB over water
- Mixed feelings over council’s AI presenter
- Govt under pressure over water crisis
Dube argued that if government is introducing a new registration system, the transition should either be free or attract only minimal costs.
“We are making a passionate appeal to our leadership and authorities to be considerate, especially to the elderly people and pensioners who are already struggling to put food on the table. Now they are expected to fork out hundreds of dollars. Where are people supposed to get it?” he said.
The government recently introduced a 24-month deadline for property owners to validate their title deeds under a new nationwide programme aimed at tackling fraud, duplicate ownership records, and weaknesses within the country’s land administration system.
The initiative forms part of Zimbabwe’s transition towards a digital-first property registration framework under Statutory Instrument 76 of 2025.
Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs permanent secretary, Vimbai Nyemba, recently said the programme seeks to verify the authenticity of all existing title deeds before they are converted into securitised digital documents.
She explained that property owners must engage conveyancers of their choice and submit original title deeds for validation through the Deeds, Lands and Administration Platform (DLAP) system.
Once verification is complete, owners will receive securitised title deeds designed to strengthen the security and integrity of property records.
Authorities say the programme is intended to address long-standing concerns over fraudulent land transactions, duplicate records, and the loss of important ownership documents.
Nyemba said digitising the records would reduce the risk of manipulation while improving the efficiency of the national Deeds Registry.
She added that the framework was also expected to enhance transparency and restore confidence in Zimbabwe’s property ownership system.
Government said the reforms could help reduce disputes that have become common in some urban areas where inconsistencies in property records have triggered ownership conflicts.
The validation exercise is expected to run over the next two years as authorities move to fully implement the new registration framework across the country.