Zimbabwe MP says don’t give title deeds to new farmers

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order Hon Members, I only need one Member who is debating to be standing.  Hon. Majome and Hon. Nduna, can you please sit down.

*HON. MAPIKI:  The other issue I want to be looked at is that of title deeds.  If land is given title deeds, it does not work because in Kenya, when they started their land reform, they gave people title deeds.  Those whites who had been given title deeds came back and started leasing the land to the black people but they failed to service.  As a result, re-colonisation emerged because of the issue of title deeds.  So, I do not think we should go the title deeds way.  This idea of 99 year lease agreements will also give us problems in the future because if some people do not have land, that means we will sit down again and start all over to cut the big farms so as to make sure everyone has something.  What it means is that people will continue to die for this land in the near future.  So this Commission should seriously look into that because our children might start another war.  If our children ask us why we went to war yet we do not have land, it means it is another war which is being started.  I think this Bill was long overdue.

THE HON. SPEAKER:  Order Hon. Members.  The Members on the same bench where Hon. Shamu is sitting, can you please lower your voices so that we can hear what the Hon. Member is saying.

*HON. MAPIKI:  In conclusion, I think the Commission should investigate cases of farming and mining because right now many white farmers are coming back and engaging into mining activities.  They are pegging mining claims in the areas where farming activities are being carried out. So now we do not know who the real owner of the land is, the miner or the farmer.  It is like mining is being given more precedence.  For instance, where I come from, many people are now being moved from those areas because people are mining.  Therefore the Commission should look into these issues so that it is clear which is more important, mining or farming.  If both are important, there should be laws enacted to protect those engaged in farming because many farms are being pegged into mining claims.  There is also the issue of paying taxes; the same land is now being charged double from the miner and the farmer.  But the person who benefits most is the miner and not the farmer.  So I think this land commission should solve this issue.  Thank you.

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