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Temba Mliswa

Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
Norton legislator Mr Temba Mliswa has approached the High Court seeking to bar a land developer in Kingsdale Farm from demolishing houses belonging to co-operatives allocated stands on the farm. Government acquired the farm in 2006 at the height of the land reform programme and parcelled it out to housing co-operatives and other private purchasers.

Several allottees took occupation of the land and built their structures.

In an urgent application filed at the High Court yesterday Mr Mliswa wants an order barring all the demolitions and have all the eviction proceedings instituted by land developer, Maparahwe Properties, stayed until the finalisation of the matter.

Mr Mliswa argues that there is also a pending case at the Administrative Court involving the same parties.

The legislator and Norton Residents Development Trusts are the applicants in the case, while Maparahwe Properties (Pvt) Ltd, Norton Town Council, Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement Douglas Mombeshora and Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Saviour Kasukuwere are listed as respondents.

In his papers, Mr Mliswa accuses Maparahwe of defying the Constitutional Court order which dealt with the dispute in 2015.

He contends that after the co-operatives took occupation of the land in terms of the land reform laws, the residents met all the costs as required by Norton Town Council for the first phase on sub-division and occupants were allocated stands on tags pending regularisation of the Surveyor-General’s Office processes.

“The acquisition was, however, challenged in the Constitutional Court by first respondent (Maparahwe) under Case Number CCZ43/15 order granted by consent,” said Mr Mliswa.

“In terms of the order, residents under Kingsdale Housing Co-operative Society Limited and the private purchasers were allocated 140 hectares of land for which they were to compensate the first respondent at a rate of $5 per square metre.”

Mr Mliswa said it was also ordered that the parties enter into a deed of settlement stating the terms of payment for the stands at the rate of $5.

“Maparahwe is reluctant to enter into a deed of settlement with Kingsdale Farm residents in terms of the order of the Constitutional Court,” he said.

“The first respondent is making private sales of some stands already occupied by legitimate residents in terms of the Constitutional Court order who are in legal occupation.”

It is also Mr Mliswa’s contention that Maparahwe has resold over 370 stands allocated to the co-operatives. The continued private sale of already occupied stands, Mr Mliswa said, had caused mayhem and disharmony in his constituency.

“Private purchasers are being made to pay more than the stipulated $5 per square metre proportionate to stand size,” charged Mr Mliswa. “Other occupants who have been given agreements of sales by the first respondents are paying up to $27 per square metre.”

The legislator also accused Maparahwe of using hooligans to demolish the occupants’ dwellings unlawfully. He said all the victims’ efforts to get assistance from the police were fruitless, claiming that the officers were siding with Maparahwe.

Maparahwe is still to respond to the application, which is yet to be given a date for hearing.