GOVERNMENT has made an about-turn on its election promise to issue title deeds to settlers living in informal settlements with the Housing minister saying the document cannot be dished out on a silver platter.
In February, Zanu PF promised to issue 80 000 title deeds
ahead of the March by-elections in statements that were dismissed by many as a
campaign gimmick..
In an interview, Garwe last week sang a different tune on
the issuance of title deeds saying government cannot regularise the stay of
people who invaded State land.
“People are misunderstanding the issuance of title deeds as
an event. It’s not an event, it’s a process. In the context of Zimbabwe, the
issuance of title deeds is two-fold: The first one is an area such as this one
where the settlement has been properly planned, roads constructed, water, sewer
and everything,” Garwe said in an interview with NewsDay in Southview Park.
“The other one is that we are now looking at informal
settlements like Epworth, Caledonia (Eastview) in Goromonzi. This land was
invaded by land barons. It was not transferred from the Lands ministry to the
Local Government ministry. That process is now taking place.
“You can’t just come and give a person a paper without the
description of the property. So, the process gives rise to the creation of the
proper description which appears on the title deed. The regularisation process
is part of the title deeds issuance process.”
Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions executive
director Rejoice Ngwenya said it did not make sense that some of the
settlements have not been formalised for decades.
“We are all aware that some settlements were done
illegally. They now need to be given title deeds. Transfer must be done
effectively because they can’t rent those houses for the rest of their lives,”
he said.
Kushinga Epworth Residents Trust co-ordinator John Mabwe
told NewsDay that the regularisation exercise was mired in corruption.
Epworth Residents Development Association secretary Peter
Nyapetwa accused Zanu PF of politicising title deeds for votes ahead of the
2023 elections. Newsday
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