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Dr Mombeshora

Walter Nyamukondiwa in MHANGURA
Surviving spouses can now inherit land if they were registered under the new land tenure system that is still going through the legal processes. This also applies to polygamous marriages as long as the spouses are registered on the offer letters from Government.

Surviving spouses, including those of fallen war veterans, were being threatened with eviction on the grounds that their husbands who got the farms were dead.

This will come as a relief to mostly women who ended up losing their source of livelihood and shelter once the husband is gone.

Lands and Rural Resettlement Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora told thousands of people here that beneficiaries of land reform should register their spouses so that they inherit the land in the event of death.

He was speaking at the launch of the Presidential Inputs Support Scheme for cotton being spearheaded by the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe at the weekend. Dr Mombeshora said A1 and A2 farmers could register their spouse or spouses on the offer letter, as the two systems guaranteed tenure of occupancy.

“There are those who believe in polygamy, its their belief and there is nothing wrong with that,” said Dr Mombeshora.

“However, what we want is for people with offer letters to register their spouse or spouses whether they are on A1 or A2 farms.”

Dr Mombeshora said the registered spouse or spouses were the only ones who could inherit the land and any other addition will not benefit unless there was consent from the other spouse or spouses. The Zimbabwe Land Commission has dealt with several disputes from the eight farming and rural provinces in the country.

Disputes included ownership of land upon divorce and inheritance, double allocations, illegal settlers, boundary disputes and settlement on grazing land. Dr Mombeshora said the two-tier tenure system was assurance to the farmers that they owned the land.

To this end, he said, people should put up permanent and decent structures. He called on beneficiaries to fully utilise the land. Dr Mombeshora said the A1 permits and 99-year leases for A2 farms should give farmers confidence.

“We cannot continue to have people staying in houses that are like fowl runs since 2000 and yet we have given people documents that should give them confidence that they now own the farm,” he said.

“Failure to put up permanent structures sends a wrong signal to our detractors that we plan to leave the farm some day.”

Dr Mombeshora said those with A2 farms should apply for 99-year leases that are bankable to improve their farm and business. The leases can be extended for further 99-year cycles when they lapse.

Turning to contracts and joint ventures that are being entered into by farmers, Dr Mombeshora said they should be aimed at bringing skills to indigenous farmers and not for the farmers to stay in cities, leaving the partners on the farms.

“We have accepted contract farming and joint ventures, but as a way of capacitating our farmers, not a situation where one leaves the farm for white former farmers while they are in Harare,” he said.

“If you enter into such arrangements, we will take away the farm and that also applies to those who abandon the farm.”

Dr Mombeshora said there was an ongoing programme to look at farm sizes with a view to downsize those that were above the maximum farm size for that area. For Mhangura, Doma and other parts of Makonde District, the maximum farm size is 400 hectares.

Government said it will reduce bigger farms and give the other portion to those on the waiting list.

Zimbabwe has a huge demand for land from mostly the youths and women, who did not benefit during the fast track land redistribution phase.

These are pinning their hopes on getting land from the farm resizing programme.

Dr Mombeshora said land was a finite resource and would never be enough for everyone anywhere in the world.

“These are just efforts to accommodate more people considering the demand, but land does not stretch, which means it will not always be there to give out whenever it is needed,” he said.