eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Zimbabwe has started evicting illegal land occupants as Government moves to restore sanity in farming communities to improve productivity of the multi-billion dollar agriculture sector, senior officials have confirmed.
In a move likely to affect tens of thousands of settlers, the exercise has already begun with scores of illegal occupiers of gazetted land having already been served with eviction notices.
Recurrence of conflicts between illegal settlers and legitimate land holders has often resulted in farming clashes; and in the process causing disruption of production in this sector regarded as one of the most strategic and largest foreign currency earners for the country.
The eviction exercise follows a high level meeting held late last month, chaired by President Mnangagwa, which resolved to restore sanity in the resettlement communities. Also in attendance were Vice Presidents, Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, Ministers of State for
Provinces, ministers in charge of security and senior civil servants.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba confirmed the meeting but referred questions to Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural
Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri, who could not be reached for a comment by the time of going to print.
However, in separate interviews with Business Weekly this week, provincial ministers of major farming provinces confirmed that the evictions of some illegal settlers were in full swing, with some having already vacated the said land of their own volition.
The affected people include those who were irregularly allocated pieces of land during the land reform programme, mainly by politicians and some senior officials who by-passed government structures and authorities and those who settled themselves.
The majority of the illegal settlers either do not have proper documentation such as offer letters or are on lists of schedules of people waiting to be availed with official documentation by Government.
Zimbabwe embarked on the land reform programme at the turn of the millennium, in an exercise meant to redress colonial era ownership imbalances by redistributing the farms from minority white commercial farmers to indigenous people.
The Government has since declared the land reform is irreversible amid pressure from western countries, which claim the exercise was tantamount to a land grab.
According to copies of the eviction letters, the illegal settlers are being given seven days to leave the farms, in which failure to comply will result in “arrest and prosecution in terms of the Gazetted Land Act”.
Business Weekly was shown the letters served to some farmers signed by Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Ringson Chitsiko recently.
“The Government directed that all illegal setters be given seven day notices so that land owners can continue to farm without disturbances,” Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavhima said.
“We have carried out necessary steps to give them notices so that they go back to where they came from. We have approximately 12 500 illegal settlers in the province.”
In Mashonaland West, the exercise is ongoing, according to the province’s State Minister Mary Mliswa.
“Some of them are leaving by themselves,” she said.
“The only challenge is shortage of transport to move around serving the letters, but we have engaged other departments to provide transport so that we speed up the process. We are doing well.”
Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira, said the province was seeking regularisation of about 3 000 settlers, which could reduce the number of affected people to 2 000.
“The evictions are mainly in Masvingo District and we are issuing notices. Of the 5 000 illegal settlers, we have requested regularisation where about 3 000 people are settled.”
The evictions should have started in 2016, under the previous administration, but was scuttled “by politicians” who fought in the corner of illegal settlers according, to sources.
“A high level meeting was held at the State House where the President, his deputies and various Government officials resolved that the action had to be taken to restore sanity in resettlement areas,” said one source who refused to be named.
“The exercise being rolled out now is a product of that meeting and some settlers have started receiving (eviction) orders. However, this should not be taken as if the new administration is targeting black farmers. The Government needs sanity to prevail in the resettlement communities and the exercise is targeting only illegal occupants.”
Provincial ministers of other provinces, could however not be reached for comments by late yesterday.
In December 2017, Minister Shiri called on the illegal settlers to vacate the farms.
“All those who were illegally settled or who just settled themselves on resettlement land should vacate immediately,” Minister Shiri said.
“Only those people with documentation of land occupancy and/or those who were allocated land legitimately should remain on the farms and concentrate on production unhindered.”
Section 3 of the Gazzeted Land Act provides that violation of the provision attracts a fine not exceeding level seven or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both. Sources said the exercise would also be extended to communal areas where traditional leaders have been parcelling out land without following due processes.
The illegal settlers have become problematic, and in certain cases causing costly conflicts with legally resettled farmers. In Manicaland, for instance, conflicts between settlers seeking farm land on timber estates and property owners remain a major cause of fires — estimated to have destroyed 2 500 hectares worth nearly US$7 million last year, according to the Timber Producers Federation.
