The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has warned that traditional leaders who sell state land will be prosecuted and risk imprisonment.
Several village chiefs have already been convicted of the crime.
Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Professor Obert Jere, said traditional leaders were not allowed to sell state land and community land was classified as state land held in trust. They must work hand in hand with local councils.
“Village heads are not permitted to sell land. Rather, it is reserved for families in their area. Keep the land for your children, as there is no room for selling land to strangers. The land must be protected for your future generations. Cases of land sales are increasing in rural areas and we do not want this to continue,” he said.
Over the past few years, the government has organized capacity-building workshops to educate traditional leaders about their roles.
This happened after some traditional leaders were involved in land scams by accepting money to allow people from outside their community to be allocated community lands within that community. Section 282 of the Constitution states that traditional leaders bear responsibility for community land management and environmental protection.
The Community Lands Act, a law intended to give effect to the constitutional provision of Section 4, states that rural lands are vested in the President who permits them to be occupied and put to good use in accordance with the Act.
Despite knowing that rural land should be distributed to individuals free of charge after consultation, some traditional leaders have chosen to ignore the law for the sake of profit.
One of the victims at the Department of Agricultural Education Services, Director Mr. Jotamo Dondovima, said the village head ordered him to pay between US$2,500 and US$3,000 per hectare.
”I was referred to Chegutu Railway 28 farm about 13 kilometers from Norton along the road to Murrumbidzi. I was taken to the village chief and told that there were five plots of land measuring 6 hectares that had not yet been occupied. I wanted one but was told I would have to pay $2,500-$3,000 to be split by the district manager, grounds clerk, and village chief. I was then informed that after payment was made, the license or offer letter would be processed but retroactive to an acceptable date. I will then need to pay the rents backdated to the date mentioned in the offer letter.
The rising cost of urban land has led to urban home seekers moving to nearby rural areas which are now experiencing pressure on demand for social services.
Areas such as Domboshava, 30 km from Harare, and Goromonzi, about 40 km away, have become favorite locations for house seekers. The situation is not limited to Domboshava and Goromonzi alone, but also to other peri-urban settlements located in an arc around the Capital District. Announce
