Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development
Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri yesterday urged the public to follow
proper procedures when acquiring land, adding that Government would make sure
the alleged perpetrators, only identified as Cdes Mpofu, Sigauke, Chiyangwa,
Chimuti and Sister Nyamuziwa, none of whom hail from Mashonaland West, would be
brought to book.
Prof Jiri said the five had formed three WhatsApp groups
through which they would communicate with their victims who were made to part
with various amounts ranging from US$1 000 up to US$10 000 for land of varying
sizes of between 100 and 110 hectares.
The scam started as far back as 2018.
“We have 500 people who were duped in illegal land deals in
Mashonaland West after being promised between 100 and 110 hectares. The people
were put in WhatsApp groups for easy communication with some made to complete
dubious forms purported to have been brought from the Ministry of Lands. Some
paid as much as US$1 000.
“We have people from the Diaspora, who were also promised
land and ordered to pay. This particular group was promised land between 2018
and 2019,” said Prof Jiri.
Some of the duped people recently approached the ministry
seeking clarification on why they were not being allocated their land, said
Prof Jiri, and with their information the ministry has exploded the con game
and is now helping to hunt down the gang.
“So far over 500 individuals have realised that they have
been taken for a ride. They cannot identify the ringleaders and some of them do
not even know the ringleaders but we have identified the names of these
ringleaders,” he said.
A person who is seeking farm land must apply to the
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development and fill
in land application forms.
These forms are distributed to the provincial offices and
thereafter the applicants will be considered at the district office level.
From there they go to the provincial office.
Those considered are taken to the Minister of State for
Provincial Affairs and Devolution for recommendation of allocation. That is the
general procedure which any farm seeker must follow.
Prof Jiri indicated that land issues are only dealt with at
his ministry and they do not use agents.
“The ministry does not make you pay for anything. If you
apply for land, the ministry does not make you pay any facilitatory fees for
you to be considered for land. While your accreditation is pending, the
ministry does not make you pay for anything,” he said.
The only money that people pay is when they are allocated
land.
A1 farmers pay US$20 per year in foreign currency or
equivalent in local currency. A2 farmers pay US$3 per hectare.
Before that there is no payment to anyone by a land
applicant and the ministry does not run any agents in terms of land
applications.
So anyone who is seen selling land and anyone who sees land
being sold should immediately know that its fake.
Victims of the fraudulent scam in Banket told The Herald
they had learnt the hard way that one needs to follow proper procedures when
acquiring land.
Mr Mickel Sambo of Tynwald suburb in Harare urged other
land seekers to follow procedures.
He said he paid US$150 to the Banket land scammers for some
“administrative” issues.
“For the past two to three years we have been made to
believe that we were about to be given offer letters by the ministry. We paid
some money purported to be administrative fees to make sure that we get land.
“We paid that money and some fuel and subsistence fees for
those who were pegging among other things. We thought it was going to be a
two-week process. So we began to question ourselves about what was really
transpiring because nothing was materialising. With the explanation that we got
from the Permanent Secretary, we are gutted. From today I do not have hope but
at least I now know what to do,” Mr Sambo said.
Mr Bernard Shumba of Warren Park 1 suburb said he was
convinced that they would eventually get land.
“We had high hopes because we heard there were more land
offers in Banket and so paid US$150. People were conned of a lot of money. I
have hope of getting land one day. We have come to see the officials because
the time frame is taking too long,” he said.
Government has also warned the public against resettling
themselves on agricultural land saying the move will attract prosecution.
According to the Land Commission Act, it is a criminal
offence in terms of the Gazetted Lands (Consequential Provisions) Act to occupy
State land without lawful authority in the form of a permit, an offer letter or
a lease.
In a recent notice, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture,
Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka, said Government will
not regularise those that settle themselves on State land without procedurally
issued tenure documents adding that the full wrath of the law will be applied
in such cases of illegal settlements.
He said land applications should be made to the provincial
lands offices where applicants get list allocation numbers and applicants
should use these numbers to track progress with their applications.
War veterans have a 20 percent quota and have a separate
application register while youths have a 20 percent quota and a separate list.
Land applicants who are recommended for land allocation
should wait to get tenure documents before occupying recommended pieces of
land.
Recently, the ministry said all local authorities must,
with immediate effect, cease the selling of communal and agricultural land.
So far 99 percent of the land has been distributed and the
Government is targeting abandoned, underused land and farms that are idle.
Herald
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