The Commission of Inquiry into the Sale of State Land in and around Urban Settlements from 2005 has exposed staggering corruption under which hundreds of politically-connected people prejudiced the State of US$3 billion or Z$49,5 billion at yesterday’s interbank rate.

The commission, chaired by Justice Tendai Uchena started its work in February last year and presented its report to President Mnangagwa on Tuesday. It shows some with the right political connections gobbled up large tracts of prime State land having paid effectively nothing for it, quickly subdividing it into residential stands and selling them without having serviced the land.  

We have no doubt that in addition to the prejudice to the State, scores of unsuspecting home-seekers also lost much money in the sleazy conditions under which the land was sold as we have heard multiple cases of double allocation of residential stands, unexplained withdrawals of land offers and so on. It was chaos all over since some were allocated stands that sit on sewer and water lines, on wetlands, under high voltage power lines or on places designated for roads or other infrastructure.  That all this happened was bad enough, but it was made worse by the fact that there was no one on hand to enforce the law. This was so, simply because officials in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works who allocated such land to the so-called land barons were arguably the primary beneficiaries of the corruption.    

“The commission’s computation of the total value of the farms, according to the ministry responsible for Local Government, is US$3 004 368.931,” said Justice Uchena while presenting the report to the President.

“However, the Government has recovered less than 10 percent of the intrinsic value of the land and is owed almost US$3 billion by beneficiaries of urban State land. To be exact, the total full prejudice to the State stands at US$2 977 072 819.”

The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works’ failure to fully execute its mandate resulted, Justice Uchena added, in the illegal sale of urban State land by cooperative leaders and developers who were pocketing the proceeds without developing on-site and off-site infrastructure.

“This created opportunities for land barons to sell urban State land. Land barons are usually politically-connected, self-proclaimed illegal State land ‘authorities’ who illegally sold the State land in and around urban areas without accounting for the proceeds.

“Housing development has occurred on unplanned areas such as wetlands, under power lines, on top of sewer lines, sites designated for institutional or commercial use (schools and clinics), and recreational centres and for other public uses.

“The State suffered prejudice due to losses, which occurred as a result of Ministry of Local Government undervaluing urban State land or complete failure to value it, poor record keeping, poor financial management and failure to invoice developers and beneficiaries of urban state land.” 

His commission established that 431 serious cases needed further investigations by police, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Prosecuting Authority. 

Harare Metropolitan has 156 cases, Mashonaland East (120), Mashonaland West (50), Midlands (27), Mashonaland Central (25), Manicaland (22), Masvingo (21), Matabeleland South (five) and the combined Matabeleland North and Bulawayo Metropolitan (five).

Overall, Justice Uchena’s report is a sad reflection of the overall state of affairs in our country at the time. Then corruption was actually fashionable, a way of life and those who had the right connections looted with impunity.  

Former President, Robert Mugabe, appointed the commission in 2017 but he resigned before swearing the probe team in thus it could not begin work.  

Four months after assuming office, President Mnangagwa swore in the Uchena commission, an indication of the Government’s commitment to end the chaos and corruption in the urban residential development sector.  He made this clear when he received the report on Tuesday, repeating the same on Wednesday while addressing the Zanu-PF Politburo.  

“I received the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the sale of State land in urban areas,” he said. “The report contains glaring excesses which we must correct and bring the guilty parties to account without fear or favour.  The Government, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission must interest themselves in the findings of that report. The party stands with the victims who suffered and lost their hard-earned money at the hands of the unscrupulous, corrupt and greedy land barons. The law will take its course without fear or favour in this regard.”

The Government now has a strong basis to proceed with investigations to bring to book the land barons and their connections in Government and other circles. We expect everyone who was involved in the grand corruption to be arrested, be brought before the courts and to get the punishment they invited to themselves. Such punishment must not just be lengthy jail sentences but also paying full restitution to the State as well as to the home- seekers who were swindled of their hard-earned money.