Shepherd Shalvar Chikomba_
ZNOART National Chairman (Pictured)
Zimbabwe cannot claim to be serious about restoring order, protecting citizens and enforcing the law while the alleged architects and beneficiaries of illegal land sales remain untouched.
The time has come to say it plainly: Land barons must be arrested and brought before the courts.
For years, desperate citizens have been sold residential stands, commercial stands and other parcels of land through questionable schemes. Many ordinary Zimbabweans have parted with their hard-earned money believing they were acquiring legitimate property, only to discover later that the land was allegedly improperly allocated, unlawfully occupied, situated on undesignated land, wetlands, road reserves or land reserved for public infrastructure.
When these structures are eventually declared illegal and face demolition, the ordinary resident is left carrying the consequences.
This is not justice.
The resident who paid for a stand is not necessarily the person who created the illegal settlement. In many cases, the resident is the end victim of a much bigger system involving people who allegedly identified land, subdivided it, marketed it, collected money and created false expectations among desperate home seekers.
Government and law-enforcement agencies must therefore follow the money and follow the chain of responsibility.
*ARREST THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCHEMES*
ZNOART maintains that enforcement cannot begin and end with the demolition of structures occupied by ordinary families.
If there are individuals, companies, cooperatives, syndicates, officials or intermediaries who unlawfully sold land to citizens, they must be identified, investigated and prosecuted where evidence establishes criminal conduct.
The public deserves answers.
Who allocated the land?
Who subdivided it?
Who authorised the sales?
Who collected the money?
Which companies or cooperatives were involved?
Where did the money go?
Which public officials, if any, facilitated or ignored the illegal transactions?
These questions cannot be swept under the carpet.
*DO NOT PUNISH THE VICTIM AND PROTECT THE PERPETRATOR*
A person who paid money for a residential stand in good faith should not automatically be treated as the principal wrongdoer simply because the transaction later turns out to have been unlawful.
We recognise that every case must be investigated on its own facts and that nobody should be convicted without due process. However, the same principle must apply to those who allegedly profited from illegal land transactions.
There must be accountability from the top of the chain, not merely punishment at the bottom.
If an illegal land scheme generated millions of dollars from desperate citizens, recovering the land without investigating the people who collected that money leaves the central problem unresolved.
*WE CALL FOR GOVERNMENT TO PUBLISH THE FACTS AND INVESTIGATE*
ZNOART calls upon the relevant authorities to conduct comprehensive investigations into suspected land-barons and illegal land-sale networks.
Where wrongdoing is established, authorities must:
– Arrest and prosecute suspects in accordance with the law.
– Trace and recover proceeds of crime where applicable.
– Investigate companies, cooperatives and other entities used in suspected illegal transactions.
– Investigate the involvement of public officials and other facilitators.
– Publish verified information identifying those against whom formal cases have been established, subject to the law.
– Protect residents who genuinely purchased stands in good faith.
– Establish transparent mechanisms for regularisation where legally and technically possible.
– Ensure that demolitions are lawful, procedurally fair and accompanied by appropriate measures to protect vulnerable residents.
*REGULARISATION MUST NOT BECOME ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR EXPLOITATION*
We are equally concerned about the emergence of organisations and individuals who present themselves as capable of resolving the land crisis while demanding money from desperate residents.
Zimbabweans who have already lost their savings must not be exposed to another round of exploitation.
Any organisation claiming to represent affected residents or facilitate regularisation should clearly disclose its mandate, leadership, registration status, beneficiaries, funding arrangements and engagement with competent authorities.
The land crisis must not become another business opportunity for people seeking to exploit desperate citizens.
*IT IS OUR WISH THAT THE STATE MUST PROTECT ITS CITIZENS*
ZNOART recognises the Government’s responsibility to enforce planning, environmental and land laws. We also recognise the need to protect wetlands, road reserves, public amenities, waterways and other land that cannot lawfully be occupied.
But enforcement must be lawful, proportionate, transparent and accountable.
The solution cannot simply be:
“You bought an illegal stand, therefore your house must come down.”
*The harder but necessary question is:*
“ _Who sold you that stand, who authorised or facilitated the transaction, and why have they not been held accountable?”_
That is where serious investigations must begin.
*ENOUGH IS ENOUGH LAND BARONS MUST BE ARRESTED*
Zimbabwe needs a decisive national response to illegal land dealings.
Residents must not be left at the mercy of land barons. Communities must not be turned into sources of illegal enrichment. Public land must not be treated as private property. And Government institutions must not become spectators when citizens are allegedly being exploited.
ZNOART therefore calls for urgent, impartial and evidence-based investigations into suspected land-barons and illegal land-sale syndicates throughout Zimbabwe.
Where criminality is established, arrests must follow, prosecutions must follow, and proceeds of crime must be recovered.
The ordinary citizen must not be the only person standing before the bulldozer.
The people who allegedly created and profited from these illegal land schemes must also face the law.
*AS RESIDENTS WE DEMAND THAT LAND BARONS MUST BE ARRESTED.*
The law must be applied fairly, firmly and without fear or favour.
*ABOUT ZNOART :*
_The Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and Residents Trust ZNOART is an Apex body representing all residents and associations in Zimbabwe, our focus and thrust is service delivery, community development, infrastructure development, environment and waste management, health care, gender and social welfare, transparency and accountability and drug and substance abuse._
ZNOART WhatsApp Hotline 0776075414
Email :znoart1@gmail.com