Q & A:
HON. NYAKUEDZWA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My question is directed to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works. What is Government policy on village heads who are selling peri- urban land, for example, Domboshava, Seke, Nyabira and if you go to Rusape there is Chesa Farm. All these areas that I am talking about, village heads have settled more than 10 000 people who are taken to chiefs, the village heads want their own money, who also write documents going all the way to chief where they are also charged. What is Government policy with regard to this issue?
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am, I would like to thank the Hon. Member for posing that question. If there are village heads selling land, we call them land barons. It is illegal, with regard to law, they are supposed to be arrested, that is Government
policy or that is the law. If there is anyone with concrete evidence like what the Hon. Member alluded to, these people must be arrested, that is Government policy, I thank you.
HON. MUNEMO: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma’am. My supplementary question is the Hon. Minister is saying if these people are known, if we were to drive around these people can be clearly seen. Even Government employees who are in charge of this know very well
that such people are settling illegally. They wait until these people finish building their homes, then they start to destroy their houses. What is Government policy in terms of preventing such issues from happening before people lose their funds and resources they would have spent on constructing on such illegal lands? I thank you.
HON. PROF. MURWIRA: Thank you Madam Speaker Ma`am. I would like to appreciate the question posed by the Hon. Member, the issue that he is raising is that there are people that work for the Government and local authorities who may know what is happening and all that. That is what we call corruption and that is why we have laws that deal with corruption, which must prosecute those people who does corruption. The question again is, is there such law? The law is there. Firstly, they are not supposed to sell land illegally. If they do that, they will be prosecuted. Secondly, people who see people selling land illegally and just keep quiet are also involved in corruption, they will also be arrested. Corruption is illegal, selling land is illegal. All these things lead to prosecution. Anyone who sees such things happening must report to the nearest police station so that the judiciary system may assist in that area and so that those people may go to where they belong, which is the jail.
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