Already several village heads have been convicted of the
crime.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development
Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said traditional leaders were not
allowed to sell State land, and communal land is classified as State land held
in trust. They should work hand in glove with local councils.
“Village heads should not sell land, rather it is preserved
for families that are in their area. Preserve land for your children, there is
no room for selling land to outsiders. Land should be protected for your future
generations. Cases of selling land are increasing in rural areas and we do not
want this to continue,” he said.
Over the past few years Government has been carrying out
capacity building workshops to educate traditional leaders on their roles.
This was after some traditional leaders had been implicated
in land scams accepting money to allow people from outside their community to
be allocated communal lands within that community. Section 282 of the
Constitution says traditional leaders have a responsibility to manage communal
lands and protect the environment.
The Communal Lands Act, a law meant to operationise the
constitutional provision in Section 4, says rural land is vested in the
President who shall permit it to be occupied and well used in accordance with
this Act.
Despite knowing that rural land should be dispensed to
individuals for free after consultation, some traditional leaders have
allegedly chosen to ignore the law for profit.
One of the victims in the Department of Agricultural
Education Services, director Mr Jotamu Dondofema, said he was ordered to pay
US$2 500 to $3 000 for a hectare by a village head.
‘‘I was referred to Chegutu Railway 28 farm just about 13km
from Norton along the road to Murombedzi. I was taken to the village head and
was told that they are five 6ha plots not yet occupied. I wanted one but was
told I have to pay US$2 500 to US$3 000 to be shared by the district
administrator, lands officer and village head. I was then informed that after
making payment, the license or offer letter would be processed but backdated to
an acceptable date. Then after I will need to pay rents backdated to the date
on the offer letter,” he said.
The rising cost of urban land has seen urban home seekers
move into adjacent rural areas which are now experiencing pressure on demand
for social services.
Areas such as Domboshava 30km from Harare and Goromonzi
about 40km have become the locations of choice for home seekers. The situation
is not unique to Domboshava and Goromonzi alone, but other peri-urban
settlements in an arc around the metropolitan province. Herald
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