If you read a newspaper, everyday, houses are for sale, why, they are being sold because people borrowed money and when they borrowed that money, interest rates went up to 45%. We are doing nothing as the august House.
We were elected by the people, we must defend our people from international capital which is stealing houses and land. It is important Mr. Speaker Sir. I visited my brother and the Messenger of Court had been there. They had no TV and were now sitting on empty gallons and tins. Sofas had been taken by the Messenger of Court and the kids could not believe what was happening. You know especially 3/ 4 year old children did not understand.
They said to babamudiki, people came and stole our sofas but I wrote the registration number of the vehicle – the other one was written Messenger of the High Court, Messenger of Court. All this must now be streamlined. The Land Commission Bill must look at ways of protecting our people.
In fact, there must be a clause that says, I have a 99 year lease; I must be on that land for 99 years. They can take all the cattle if I borrow money – [Laughter.] – they can even take all my clothes and leave me naked, but they cannot remove me from my land because this is what belongs to me. It is mine. – [HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.] –
That is what I have inherited and this piece of land is what I have inherited. Most of us here inherited poverty, that is why when we discuss certain things people are just vicious because they are poor. Poverty Mr. Speaker Sir, is the most dangerous weapon that can destroy the dignity of a person.
It is the inability to utilise resources around you for your personal village, tribal national benefit. We have been totally displaced and we continue to move and do anything. If I go out there and start shouting, everybody will come and join me because they are poor. They are hoping at the end of the day, I will give them some biscuits and some drinks – [Laughter.]-
So, the process that the Hon. Minister must do is to make sure that this land, like the one given to me as Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, is my piece of land for the next 99 years and then it comes to my son, like what you read in the Bible. It is very clear – land is the source of all conflicts and we must avoid that.
Somebody cannot take away my land because he has given me $100.00. He says, roll over $100.00 and it comes to $1000.00 and $1000.00 roll over, it comes to $2000.00. We cannot allow those things to happen. So, Hon. Minister, I feel it is important that you also protect everybody who is going onto the land.
There is an issue of inheritance that happens when somebody dies. It must take the normal inheritance course. If somebody has two wives, their names must appear before the person dies. Your Lands- Officer must know who is who on the farm when they move around. There is no point to say, after death then you want to include names. No, an offer letter must be Simbaneuta Mudarikwa wife number one; if I have got two wives wife number two.
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