Staff Writer
The Government and all its arms should have a single coordinated system that is built around the needs of citizens for the country to realise the full economic potential of land tenure reforms, Dr Kudakwashe Tagwirei has said.
In his capacity as Chair of the Land Tenure Implementation Committee (LTIC), Dr Tagwirei told a high-level stakeholder breakfast meeting in Harare on Thursday that a “whole-of-economy approach” was required to unlock the full value of the nation’s land.
“No single ministry, institution or sector can deliver this transformation alone. It demands a whole-of-economy approach, so let me leave each constituency with one practical commitment.
“Government and ministries should build one coordinated system around the citizen, with published service standards, continued digitisation and inter-agency data integration. Banks and insurers must accept the deed as collateral, and build seasonal, asset-finance and insurance products priced for agriculture’s realities.
“Farmers, run the farm as a business – invest, insure, produce and repay. This generation’s credit record prices the next. Private sector and investors should bring capital, technology and market access into titled value chains, from inputs to processing to export.
“The land professionals, valuers, surveyors and conveyancers, build capacity, speed and integrity from survey to registration. Development partners should help transfer knowledge, technical assistance, and international experience in titling, land markets, and rural finance,” he said.
Dr Tagwirei said for a title deed to have value, the system behind it must earn trust. He said a fragmented bureaucracy would be inimical to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s demand that the process of issuance of the deeds be simple, accessible, transparent, predictable, digitised, and accountable.
“The landholder must experience one coordinated journey, from survey and valuation through to agreement, payment and registration of the deed itself. That is what the One-Stop Centre exists to deliver.”
The LTIC Chair said the benefits of tenure reform must reach every category of landholder. Emphasis, he said, should be put into ensuring women holding title in their own right and with equal access to financing, inputs and markets through support from the Women’s Development Fund. Similarly, young people should also be fully accommodated for development of a modern, technology-driven and profitable agriculture sector.
“Communities must also find strength in secure tenure, with inheritance protected under law,” Dr Tagwirei said.
He said the ultimate objective was to guarantee secure tenure and bankable land for a productive Zimbabwe.
“These are not slogans; they are a pathway. Secure tenure gives us the foundation. Bankability provides access to capital. Productivity creates economic value, and economic value drives national development.
“His Excellency the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, has outlined the objective in Vision 2030: ‘A prosperous Zimbabwe where all families possess land, cultivate it, and share in its benefits.’ … He has granted us access to the land. It is our responsibility to transform it into tangible results.”