reform programme, face arrest for continuously failing to pay unit taxes to the local authority.
Most of them are ranchers and have either failed or refused to pay the unit tax of US$1 per hectare per annum.
Mwenezi Rural District Council officials said repeated efforts to engage the farmers had not achieved the desired results since last year.
The officials said the farmers owed the RDC council tens of thousands of US dollars.
The average land size for ranchers in Mwenezi is 80 hectares.
Mwenezi RDC chief executive officer, Mr Richard Moyo, last week said they would soon take the farmers to court to force them to make the statutory statements.
“Many new farmers here are refusing to pay unit tax and they have been doing that for the past couple of years.
“They argue that they cannot afford to pay the unit tax of US$1 per hectare per annum because the figure is too high.
“We have repeatedly tried to have dialogue with the new farmers to no avail and if they continue to refuse paying the unit tax, obviously the only option that council will be left with is to take court action against them.”
He said this was a Government-approved tax for road and bridges rehabilitation and gully reclamation for the benefit of the farmers themselves.
Mwenezi RDC has struggled to repair and rehabilitate roads in Mateke Hills, Sovelele, Mazetese and Rutenga because of an acute shortage of funds.
New farmers in the Zinyaningwe small-scale farming area near Mashava have also reportedly resisted paying the unit tax to the Masvingo Rural District Council.

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