By Correspondent
Government will be regularising illegal stands given up to 2021 with the rest set for demolition according to President Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa revealed this on Friday while officially commissioning the Dzivarasekwa Flats project in Harare.
“Cognisant of the fact that some unsuspecting citizens had already fallen victim to land barons, my Government has embarked on a programme of regularising some of these settlements, in line with the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy.
“The cut-off of this special dispensation is 2021 when the policy was promulgated.
“People must toe the line and we cannot tolerate lawlessness.
“Hence, any further illegal developments that emerged post the policy launch will not be regularised,” he said.
The President further called out Councils for illegally setting up new settlements.
“I, therefore, call upon planning authorities to desist from allocating residential stands in disaster-prone areas such as wetlands.
“Further, my Government is stamping its authority on the scourge of land barons and will leave no stone unturned in efforts to stop this malpractice.
Fight Against Land Barons
According to the President the problem of land barons has spread across the country.
He said government will deal with all implicated in the many land deals prevalent today.
“These malcontents had spread their wings to our rural areas.
“(This) including in growth points, peri-urban areas, district service centres, rural service centres and villages in our communal areas.
“I implore our traditional leadership to be alert, vigilant and ensure that proper procedures are followed in parcelling out land.
“The practice by some unscrupulous village heads to illegally parcel out land in anticipation of urbanisation in their areas of jurisdiction must stop forthwith.”
Housing pressure has resulted in the proliferation of illegal land deals across the country.
Seeing the market, some traditional leaders in areas such as Seke and Goromonzi have established brisk business selling land for urban development.
