FORMER Industry and Commerce minister Mike Bimha is
embroiled in a land dispute with resettled ward 8 villagers in Chivhu, who are
accusing him of seizing State land which was gazetted by government for
community development projects.
Bimha, who is also former Zanu-PF Chikomba West legislator,
has been reportedly at loggerheads with the villagers over the land, which is
in Kaalplaats Farm, since 2006 after he barred them from utilising the land,
claiming ownership.
Officials from the Lands ministry in Mashonaland east
province on Thursday failed to resolve the dispute during a meeting held at
Denis' Kitchen after the villagers demanded audience with the Lands minister.
Tempers erupted at the meeting, with the villagers accusing
the lands officers of siding with Bimha to improperly claim ownership of the
land, which shares boundary with his Tangenhamo estates.
But Bimha told the villagers during the meeting that he had
acquired the land procedurally from the government and had the required
documents which proved that the land in dispute, an extension to his Tangenhamo
estates, was legally his.
"I fully paid for the land to the government and
obtained a 99year lease for Tangenhamo estates and the land which is in
dispute," Bimha said.
"When the farms
were repossessed by the government through land reform, the land I bought could
not be subdivided to avoid hindering smooth business operations at the farm.
When the villagers first disputed my ownership of this land, I had a senior
government post and did not bother arguing with them."
But the villagers insisted that when they were resettled in
Belverspin and Kaalplaats farms, the land in dispute was set aside for construction
of schools and other social amenities. They only learnt that Bimha also claimed
ownership of the land after he started a plantation project.
"The government should provide a clear explanation on
why it allocated the land to Bimha, which was formerly set aside for
construction of a school, a clinic and shopping centre, which would benefit
more than a thousand villagers," said Marshal Muzembe, a community member.
Speaking on behalf of the villagers, ward 8 councillor
Learnmore Mufamba said there was need for government to resolve the dispute
urgently, saying it had deprived children their right to education while
villagers were facing challenges in accessing social services.
"This community has an overwhelming number of school
dropouts and cases of child marriages because children cannot afford to travel
for 20km to the nearest secondary school. Plans to construct a secondary school
were halted after it emerged that Bimha was claiming ownership of the land set
aside for community development," Mufamba said.
Mashonaland east provincial lands officer Bernard Tsimba
said he would take the matter to his superiors who would know how best to
resolve it.
"I was informed that it was a boundary dispute, but it
appears this is a different case which I cannot resolve at this meeting. I will
get back with feedback from senior authorities," Tsimba said. Newsday
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