Third land audit on cards
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 02 March 2012 11:32
Staff Reporter
THE Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement is working on a third land
audit to cost over US$31 million in compliance with the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), which states that there must be a comprehensive,
transparent and non-partisan land audit.
In the past, the Ministry has repeatedly cited the lack of funding as one of
the major hindrances to the successful carrying out of the land audit and
the maximum utilisation of land.
Giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on
Agriculture, Water, Lands and Resettlement recently, the permanent secretary
in the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement, Sophia Tsvakwi, revealed
that the same challenges still dog attempts to come up with the third land
audit.
It is, however, hoped that the latest audit would gather relevant and
reliable data for policy makers to make informed decisions to resolve the
current land crisis.
As a result of the under utilisation of land acquired under the fast track
land reform programme and incidences of multiple farm ownership, an
impartial land audit has become necessary.
Although the GPA states that there must be a comprehensive land audit, there
has been reluctance on the part of government to act on the findings of
previous land audits.
A land audit report by Flora Buka conducted in 2003, which was never made
public although it was leaked to the media, revealed widespread multiple
farm ownership by ZANU-PF chefs.
Another audit by a commission led by Charles Utete, a former secretary to
the President and cabinet, also exposed the existence of swathes of
productive land lying idle. The report said only 134 000 people have been
allocated land instead of 300 000 as claimed by the government.
In the past, the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Agriculture have
refuted the need for a land audit, saying it was still too early to judge
the indigenous farmers’ production capabilities because they have been
operating under harsh conditions characterised by targeted economic
sanctions imposed by the West.
Another land audit, according to Moses Jiri, the chairperson of the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, would gather relevant and reliable data
for policy makers to make informed decisions.
“We hope that the Ministry is ready to embark on this exercise and, as the
committee, we will be closely monitoring the whole process. The
Parliamentary Committee has the legal right to push the Ministry of Lands to
produce results unlike previously when there was no-one to monitor their
progress,” Jiri said.