Village heads cashing in on shortage of housing in urban areas, sell 10 000 plots but it’s all illegal

Village heads have sold land to more than 10 000 people after colluding with chiefs while government officials are turning a blind eye to what is essentially a chain of corruption, Parliament was told last week.

The issue was raised by Makoni South legislator Albert Nyakuwezwa when he asked that the Ministry of Local Government was doing to stop this rot.

Foreign Affairs Minister Amon Murwira who stood in for the Minister of Local Government Daniel Garwe said village heads who sold land were essentially land barons.

“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.,” Murwira said. 

“If there is anyone with concrete evidence like what the Hon. Member alluded to, these people must be arrested, that is Government policy.”

Mount Darwin North legislator Labbany Munemo said government officials were aware of these illegal settlements.

“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,” he said.

Murwira said selling land is illegal and corruption is illegal, so these people must be arrested.

“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 do corruption…

“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,” he said.

Continued next page

(318 VIEWS)