Zimbabwe Lands minister has ignored for three years request to list farms redistributed

Lands and Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuku has ignored for the past three years a request by Magwegwe legislator Anele Ndebele to list all the farms that were distributed by him and his predecessor, province by province.

Ndebele raised the issue this week as a matter of national interest asking the Speaker Jacob Mudenda to assist.

He raised the issue after another opposition legislator, Norman Markham, had complained that at least three ministers, including Vice President Constantrino Chiwenga who is the Minister of Health,had failed to issue ministerial statements following requests from Parliament.

Mudenda said he would personally follow up the issue. He said he would pass on the list of requests to the Clerk of Parliament.

“On that list, kindly add the Minister of Agriculture,” Sibanda said. “I have waited for his statement for three years. Yes, three years, the desk may kindly assist as well. I had requested for a Ministerial Statement by way of a list of farms that his predecessor and himself have redistributed, province by province. I have been to these offices, they work so hard, they have phoned him and he has ignored us totally.”

Zimbabwe embarked on a land audit in 2018 but it has not released the results up to now.

The audit was, among other things, expected to identify those with multiple farms so that they could be given to others looking for land.

Last month, Masuka said 261 000 people were on the waiting list for land. 

The government has so far resettled 300 000 black farmers and 304 white farmers.

Masuka said the government was reserving 20% of its land for youths and 20% for liberation war fighters.

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