A group of pensioners who bought plots at Irene Township outside Mutare in April 1980, just days before the country attained its independence, is likely to be evicted from their land by a developer who bought the remainder of the farm some 19 years later and has slapped them with hefty development fees to give them title deeds.
The plot holders, some of whom are over 80, or have since died leaving their estates to their children, say this is just a ploy to evict them from their land because there is no way they can afford the exorbitant fees that they are being asked to pay.
Besides, they say that the developer, Ferro Consulting of Zimbabwe, did not service their plots and did not provide any services to them at all. The company was merely supposed to grant them their title deeds on taking over the remainder of the township.
The High Court, however, while agreeing that they should be given their title deeds, ruled on 20 December 2024 that the plot holders should pay development costs to Ferro Consulting and should also seed portions of their land to the company to cater for development costs, endowment fees, capital gains tax, conveyancing fees, stand duty, rates and other costs.
Dorcas Makaya, widow of Robert Makaya, who was chairman of the 12-member plot holders association, was slapped with a bill for US$47 213.25 for a plot that she bought for $4 500 on 10 April 1980.
The Zimbabwe dollar was stronger than the United States dollar at the time. The US dollar was only 68 Zimbabwe cents in March 1980 which means that the Makaya plot cost $6 617.65. At today’s price this is now $25 251.35. Mrs Makaya is therefore being asked to pay double the price she bought the plot for in development costs for work that she says was never done to get her title deeds.
To make matters worse, a memorandum sent to Mrs Makaya on 5 February this year states that the US$47 213.25 that she reportedly owes, bears interest of 15% a year and accrues on a monthly basis. Any delayed payments incur a penalty of 24% which will be charged every 7th of the month. Mrs Makaya is supposed to pay US$1 000 a month to settle her debt.
“This is going to kill me either physically or mentally because there is no way I can ever get this kind of money,” Mrs Makaya, who celebrated her 80th birthday in September said. “I now get palpitations whenever I think about what is going to happen to me. I hardly sleep at all. I worked for the government as a teacher for 38 years from 1968 and have lived at this plot for 45 years. But I am now going to lose all that because I am a small person. No one is listening to us.”
Mrs Makaya’s colleague, Charles Mukosera, who is turning 88 in August, is facing a similar predicament. But Mukosera’s plight is worse. He is now disabled. He has lost his feet, his hand and some fingers. He cannot walk and is now on a wheelchair. Mukosera has the smallest plot and is being asked to pay US$25 852.58.
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