Land audit to end next month
GOVERNMENT is set to complete the national land audit next month, an exercise expected to address the issue of multiple farm ownership and underutilised land.
Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Douglas Karoro said Government was even considering repossessing land from beneficiaries of the land reform programme who deserted the properties.
He revealed this during the National Assembly Question and Answer session on Wednesday.
“Government wants to see a situation whereby there is fairness in land ownership. I will give an example of what is currently obtaining in our Ministry. There is a land audit that is currently underway. We expect to finalise the exercise by the end of March,” Cde Karoro said.
He said the Land Commission, which has been TWO unidentified men on Tuesday pounced on a motorist and robbed him of $120, R500, a passport and a phone at knifepoint on the outskirts of Beitbridge along the MasvingoBeitbridge Road.
Mr Talent Zitori (31) of Beitbridge, who was driving towards Masvingo, was robbed when he stopped along the highway to attend to his car tent.
Two unknown men armed with knives and stones, smashed his window while his two passengers attended to the tent at the back of his truck. By the time the two passengers realised that something was happening, the robbers had fled from the scene.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Chief Inspector Philisani Ndebele confirmed the robbery.
“We received a report of a motorist who was robbed at knifepoint by two unknown men. The robbers pounced on the driver who had stopped at a roadside just after the railway crossing along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road and robbed him at knifepoint. They were also armed with stones which they used to smash the windscreen.
“They went away with $120, R500, a valid Zimbabwean passport and a smart cellphone. The suspects fled into darkness after committing the crime,” said Chief Insp Ndebele.
“The robbers are still at large and we appeal to anyone with information that may lead to their arrest to contact their nearest police station”. — @winnie_masara conducting hearings across the country, would be critical in deciding what to be done with unutilised land.
“Currently, we have people who own land but they are not fully utilising that land. We have people who have been offered land but they are absent from the country. Government may come up with two scenarios. The first scenario is that Government is going to keep that land as State land for future development programmes. The other option is that Government may decide to distribute this land to landless people,” Cde Karoro said.
In case Government redistributes land, it will make sure that the exercise is done fairly without discrimination on creed, colour or gender.
“A farmer is going to be looked at as a farmer who has capacity and competence. The essence is that we want to produce enough food for everybody as a country and surplus for export. In short, Government is looking at ways that are non-discriminatory in terms of allocating land to those people who want land,” Cde Karoro said. — @nqotshili
Motorist robbed at knifepoint