Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter
Anxiety among traditional leaders has heightened over the Land Commission Bill after President Mnangagwa assured them that he would look into their concerns after Parliament shot down a clause, which sought to have them sit in the Commission. Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda announced in the Government Gazette last week that he had transmitted the Bill to the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for assent.

The National Assembly rejected amendments proposed by the Chiefs’ Council and subsequently adopted by Senate last year to include chiefs in the Land Commission. “In terms of Section 131 (5)(b) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, it is hereby notified that on 10 January, 2018, the Land Commission Bill, 2016, was transmitted to His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, for his assent and signature,” read the notice published by Advocate Mudenda in an Extraordinary Government Gazette last week.

President Mnangagwa told the Chiefs’ Council conference recently in Gweru that he was seized with the Bill and was keen to consult on how their concerns could be accommodated. The National Assembly adopted an Adverse Report issued by Parliamentary Legal Committee, which said inclusion of chiefs in the Land Commission was not consistent with the Constitution.

In his address to traditional leaders, President Mnangagwa described concerns by traditional leaders as pertinent. “I am waiting for an opportunity to engage the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (Ziyambi Ziyambi) and that of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing (July Moyo) because in terms of the current Constitution, I was advised that it is problematic for us to accommodate the concerns,” he said.

“We want to find out how that can be resolved, in particular how we can amend the Constitution. So it is an issue that I have to say I have not yet signed it until we are through discussing about this issue.” The Zimbabwe Land Commission is a product of the new Constitution that was adopted in 2013.

Its responsibilities include advising Government on management of agricultural land, carrying out periodic audits and settling land disputes. In its adverse report, the PLC said the Constitution did not allow traditional leaders to have jurisdiction over agricultural land, but on communal land, rendering their proposed amendments unconstitutional. During debate in Senate, traditional leaders stuck to their guns, saying the recommendations by the PLC were not binding.