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Minister Chimene

Samuel Kadungure Mutare Bureau
demand for land continues to rise in Manicaland and the Provincial Lands Committee is conducting an audit to identify farms that exceed maximum sizes, those that are underutilised and those owned by absentee owners with a view to parcelling out part of the land to those on its waiting list.

Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Cde Mandi Chimene, who chairs the organ mandated to acquire and allocate land in the province, said they had moved a gear up to rationalise maximum farm sizes and repossess idle land.

Cde Chimene said there would be no sacred cows and all those in prime farming zones, who have turned the once productive prime assets into white elephants, would not be spared.

“There is a team already on the ground identifying farms that exceed the gazetted farm sizes and land that is underutilised. Demand for land in the province is overwhelming and those in need of land should formally apply for it.

“People should just make formal applications and stop cutting corners by paying money to people they think they can help them get land because that is tantamount to corruption. Government policy stipulates that land should not be paid for,” said Cde Chimene.

She said the move follows an agreement by the committee to implement Statutory Instrument 288 of 2000 — which prescribes maximum farm sizes across the country’s five ecological regions.

The maximum farm size in Natural Region One, largely concentrated in Chimanimani, Nyanga, Mutare, Mutasa and Chipinge, but with the exemption of timber plantations, is 250ha. Region Two, which includes parts of Mutare, Makoni and Mutasa districts; is 400ha and the ceiling in Region Three, which mostly encompasses parts of Makoni, Mutasa and Mutare districts is 500ha.

Zones Four and Five, which largely encompass drier parts of Nyanga North, Chipangayi, Chisumbanje, Makoni South and Chipinge, maximum farm sizes were pegged at 1 000 and 2 000ha, respectively.

Cde Chimene said some of the farms in Manicaland were as big as 3 000 hectares. Well placed sources said the exercise identified 26 farms that are out of sync with SI288 of 2000 and underutilised in the province.

The bulky are in Makoni District where 13 farms have been identified; four farms were identified in Chipinge; two in Nyanga and six in Mutare and recommendations for their reduction have since been forwarded to Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, for approval.

Some people whose properties have been identified for downsizing are resisting the move, and have since appealed to the minister, while some are threatening legal action.

Provincial Lands Officer, Mr Clifford Mukoyi, said his ministry was seized with the issue.

“Demand for land is high and people are still applying under both A1 and A2. The exercise is about enforcing Government policy on maximum farm sizes and utilisation. Quite a number of farms in the province are out-rightly underutilised, and this exercise will go a long way in reducing the backlog, but may not cater for everyone,” said Mr Mukoyi.

The issue was also topical at last Saturday’s Zanu-PF provincial inter-district meeting in Mutare, with some delegates urging the land committee to speed up the downsizing exercise.

“It is worrying to note that some individuals have up to 3 000ha of land, which is being underutilised. Some are having the land for luxury and boast of their farm sizes at pubs, but nothing is being done on the farms.

“Our leaders should lead by example and facilitate the downsizing of all unproductive land. Some of chefs in Zanu-PF are being paid protection fees by commercial white farmers. Some are being paid 10 percent from sales of produce at the farms, while some are shareholders at these farms,” said Zanu-PF provincial secretary for youth affairs, Cde Mubuso Chinguno.

He said they were prepared to name and shame all chefs protecting white farmers.

“These white farmers are never nice to us. We have been holding fundraising activities for various programmes but very few of them responded.

“They lie that they support the party because they want protection. We are sick and tired of their shenanigans as some of them are our supporters by day and opposition supporters by night,” said Cde Chinguno.

Provincial Women’s League chairperson, Cde Estery Mlambo-Madhuku, also supported the downsizing of farms in the province.

“As women, we also agree with youths that some of the farms need to be downsized. Our members are also in need of land.

“When the land is availed, we should also be considered like any other citizen of this country,” she said.