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Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Air Marshall Perrance Shiri

Elita Chikwati, Harare Bureau
Government has ordered illegally resettled farmers to immediately vacate the farms or face the full wrath of the law.

Briefing journalists after a meeting with Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs at his offices in Harare yesterday, Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement Air Marshal Perrance Shiri (Rtd) warned officials from his ministry to desist from engaging in corrupt activities when issuing out land as this was a crime that attracted a jail term.

The meeting was meant to come up with a clear, uniform and consistent response to issues pertaining to land tenure and agriculture.

“If we are to meet the goals set out by Government to use agriculture as the mainstay of the economy, we need to ensure unquestionable sanity on the farms,” said Minister Shiri. “To achieve that, the Zimbabwe Land Commission (ZLC) shall be seized with the responsibility of settling land disputes emanating from resettled farmers and shall report to the Minister from time to time.

“Constitutionalism should be the guiding principle and as such, behaviour and actions not conforming to this are not permissible under whatever circumstances.

“Only those people with documentation of land occupancy and or those who were allocated land legitimately should remain on the farms and concentrate on production unhindered.

“All those who were illegally settled or who just settled themselves on resettlement land should vacate immediately.”

Minister Shiri said land allocation was a prerogative of the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement.

He said since his appointment as Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, he had received hundreds of cases pertaining to land disputes and said these should be directed to the ZLC offices in all provinces where they will be dealt with speedily.

Minister Shiri said the Surveyor General will work round the clock to survey the resettled land and properly demarcate boundaries. He said offer letters and 99-year leases issued by Government carried the same weight and were not discriminatory in any manner.

“Security of tenure on land is a factor which, if not clear, can cause loss of confidence,” said Minister Shiri. “Henceforth, all leases for agricultural land shall be for a period of 99 years. We request all those farmers whose land has been surveyed to collect their leases.

“Corruption is a cancer that can demolish the fortunes of a country. For us to restore the country’s bread basket status, everyone should be reminded that corruption is a crime that attracts a jail term.

“There shall not be any sacred cows. Any Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement official found on the wrong side of the law shall be severely dealt with in accordance with the law. Furthermore, any settler practicing corruption should be reported to the police without any delay.”

Minister Shiri said agriculture was important in contributing to the economy.