What the people said about the proposed land Commission Bill

4.10  Compensation of Former White Farmers

Section 72 (3) of the Constitution stipulates that previous white farmers should be compensated for the improvements that were effected on the farms before acquisition.  The Zimbabwe Farmers Union highlighted that the bulk of its membership cannot access finances and opportunities under public-private investment as the land currently under their occupation is classified as “disputed land”.

4.11  Database on Land Ownership

Concern was raised that the National Land Register was not credible.  The select Committees of Parliament heard of cases where records of offer letters issued by officials from the Ministry of Lands disappeared from the system. At the same time, withdrawals of offer letters, double allocations multiple farm allocations were common.  Part 8 of the Bill is devoted to the administration of the Land Register.  It is important that the Ministry receives adequate funding to develop a modern database, which is foolproof and reliable.  It is through a credible database that some of the contentious disputes can be resolved.

5       Recommendations

i.       The status of the Land Commission should be upgraded to that of an Executive Commission, similar those Commissions and Institutions listed under Chapters 12 and 13 of the Constitution.  This will enable the Land Commission to work independently and with undue influence from the Executive or anybody.

ii.    The selection criteria of Commissioners should be transparent and the process should be based on Section 237 (1) of the Constitution, where Parliament is also involved.

iii. Section 28(1) should promote investment into the agricultural sector rather than hinder it.

iv. Land disputes need to be depoliticized, especially by policy-makers to enable the Commission to find lasting solutions.

v.    Inhabitants of an area should be given first preference in land allocations before aspiring persons from other areas are taken into consideration.

vi. Traditional leaders should be consulted in the land allocations and in dispute resolution.

vii. The right to land of vulnerable groups such as women, orphans, elderly and the disabled need to be respected in line with the Constitution and other legal instruments.

viii.  Corrupt land officers should be removed from the system, instead of transferring them to other provinces.  This does not solve the problem.

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