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DR MOMBESHORA . . . “Government is working on introducing a land rental so that our people do not use land for free”

George Maponga The Interview
There has been a resurgence in illegal farm occupations as hunger for land continues to grow among indigenous Zimbabweans. In Chiredzi, over 600 landless villagers and war veterans early this week invaded sugarcane plantations. Our Senior Reporter George Maponga (GM) spoke with Lands and Resettlement Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora (DM) on this and other related issues. Below are excerpts.GM: What is Government’s position on the occupation of sugarcane estates in Chiredzi by landless villagers and war veterans?
DM: There should be no illegal occupation of farms anywhere in the country. It is Government’s policy that no one should do that, it is illegal. Those who need land should follow proper channels and get offer letters before moving to occupy any land. So the message is very loud and clear that those who have illegally occupied farms should get out or they will be moved out by the police!

GM: Are such land disputes a national problem or they have been confined to Chiredzi district?
DM: The problem is not only confined to Chiredzi. We have had similar problems in Kadoma district where people invaded farms just before the elections. I do not have the total figure of farms affected in Kadoma and the numbers of illegal settlers because once we find out there are illegal settlers we immediately flush them out.

GM: Going back to the land war in Chiredzi, there is confusion over some offer letters that were issued by Government to 143 people in December 2012 but beneficiaries have not moved onto their land. What is actually happening?
DM: I really do not know what confusion there is in Chiredzi. My thinking is that if there is any problem in that district those who administer the province should be able to identify it and provide a solution. Those 143 with offer letters were given plots on virgin land in Hippo Valley Estates based on an agreement between Government and Tongaat Hulett where the latter undertook to develop 4 000 hectares into cane plots for them.
The last time we talked to Tongaat Hulett they said they had raised US$2 million for the project. Those with offer letters should not be impatient because they cannot go and occupy land that has not been developed. We also know that they have no capacity to develop the virgin land to grow sugarcane under irrigation.

GM: Under what circumstances would Government withdraw offer letters from beneficiaries and how many have you withdrawn so far?
DM: In the case of Chiredzi, we will only withdraw the offer letters from the 143 beneficiaries if they invade and occupy sugar cane plantations instead of waiting for their plots to be developed. We will not hesitate to cancel the offer letters under those circumstances.
There are plenty of offer letters that we have withdrawn from individuals in other parts of the country for various reasons but I do not have the figure on me right now. We withdrew mainly in situations of double allocation of farms and underutilisation of land.

GM: There are reports that senior politicians are blocking those with offer letters from taking up land while protecting the interests of foreign-owned companies. What is your comment on that?
DM: I have not heard about that. It is either you have an offer letter and you move to occupy your plot or you do not have the offer letter and you wait to get one.

GM: Why has Government not acquired the majority of plantations such as timber and sugarcane for resettlement purposes? Is there a special reason for that?
DM: Yes, it’s true we have not acquired them. If you look at plantations they are different from ordinary crops. It takes a gum or a pine tree between 15 and 20 years to mature, so if you give someone an offer letter for 20 hectares of a gum plantation that person will wait for at least 15 years to harvest.
This means there is need for a proper policy that will determine how plantations can be acquired for resettlement and benefit our people. We are working on a policy on plantations and that policy is not yet ready.
We also do not want a situation where a person starts growing maize in an area that was once under, say, a pine plantation because as a country we also need citrus plantations, academia nuts, pineapples and sugarcane.
We cannot just parcel out the land where these things are grown.

GM: It seems the hunger for land still remains high among Zimbabweans. How many people are on the waiting list for land and what is your ministry doing to quench that appetite?
DM: It is true demand for land remains very high, in fact the number of people waiting for land is just the same as the number of those who have so far benefited, that is about 300 000 people. However, it is not possible that all who need land will get it.
We are going to embark on an audit of every farm to identify gaps which we will allocate to the landless. We are going to repossess underutilised farms and some of the bigger farms will also be subdivided so that more people get land.
We are also working on introducing a land rental so that our people do not use land for free.
The rental will enable our ministry to finance inspection and surveying, that is work in progress.

GM: Do you see land conflicts coming to an end anytime soon in Zimbabwe and what measures do you have in place to reduce them?
DM: There cannot be an end to these conflicts anytime soon, disputes over land will continue into the foreseeable future. They will continue up to a time when surveying of 6 000 farms that is currently underway has been completed. So far we have surveyed 2 000 and we still have a balance of 4 000.

GM: How will the surveying eliminate land conflicts?
DM: The surveying will enable us to demarcate final boundaries. Most conflicts at the moment are centred on boundaries so once we have demarcated them there will be no more disputes.
The challenge, however, is that we require funds from the fiscus to continue with the surveying. As such I cannot give a date when the programme will end because it is tied to availability of funds.
That is why we want to introduce a land rental which is one way of raising funds.
The other conflicts are about infrastructure. The infrastructure on all A1 plots belongs to the State. One has to apply to use it and in most cases we have reserved the infrastructure to accommodate Government employees such as teachers, Agritex workers and even use them as temporary schools and clinics in resettlement areas.
On A2 farms, the infrastructure is yours. When you apply for a 99-year lease you also pay for the infrastructure and no one can claim and use it.