No to illegal farm occupations: Shiri

GOVERNMENT will not tolerate any more illegal farm occupations and those found on the wrong side of the law will face the full wrath of the law as police are now on standby to deal with all perpetrators, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Perrance Shiri has said.

Minister Shiri, who was addressing an inter-district meeting in Bindura last weekend, said as the ruling party, members should lead by example by following the right channels when they need land.

“On the issue of land, we have notified the police and there should not be any intimidations.

“If any farmer finds people illegally occupying his or her farm, he or she must immediately report the matter to the police who are mandated to enforce the laws of this country. We do not want lawlessness and anarchy to prevail, so we should not be found on the wrong side of the law.

“If we need land we should simply follow the correct procedures,” he said.

“There are some of us who are becoming selfish and are now illegally distributing land and causing mayhem on farms. Some recently went to a farm belonging to Zimbabwe Assemblies of God-Africa (ZAOGA) farm in Mazowe District intending to forcibly take the farm.

“As party members we should stop doing things that are not within the confines of the law and end up getting arrested by the police.

“It is not a good thing to expect from party members.”

Minister Shiri also said the party was concerned by illegal gold mining activities in some parts of the province.