A cloud of uncertainty hovers over the future of more than 40 farmers resettled at Exwick Farm in Chegutu district amid revelations of rampant corruption and underhand dealings in the issuance of land offer letters by officials from the Lands ministry.
A Truth Diggers investigation has revealed a cobweb of corruption that has reared its head in the new wave of land allocations in Mashonaland West and Chegutu district in particular.
Truth Diggers is an investigation unit under Alpha Media Holdings.
The investigations, which are part of a series meant to expose land corruption across the country, included observations and undercover interviews with farmers.
Plot holders at the farm, most of them who occupied their pieces of land at the height of the land reform programme in 2001, said they were now living in fear as “new occupants” were coming in droves, armed with offer letters.
They said efforts to have their plots regularised appeared destined to fail. They were being made to hop from one government office to another with no solution to their problems.
“We came here in 2001 and were allocated these plots under the land reform programme.
“We, however, were not issued with offer letters and over the years we have been trying to obtain the offer letters without success,” said one farmer speaking on condition of anonymity.
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“We are now seeing new people coming in to claim our land and when we ask, they just brandish offer letters and refer us to one government office or another.”
Truth Diggers established that among the people that have arrived brandishing offer letters at Exwick Farm is Patricia Mashingaidze whose previous occupation of a piece of land on the farm was rejected by the Lands Commission last year.
The investigations found that Mashingaidze, an estate executor by profession, had offered advice to one of the late national hero's Eric Gwanzura’s wives before she got an offer letter to occupy part of the farm which was listed in the estate.
Investigations established that Mashingaidze’s offer letter was facilitated in 2014 at the lands ministry headquarters by one Nyasha Dendere, who then worked at the lands administration office.
One of the beneficiaries of the estate Zvakwana Gwanzura, son of the late national hero, reported Mashingaidze to the Lands ministry, which referred the case to the Lands Commission resulting in Mashingaidze’s offer letter being rescinded.
This publication is in possession of communications that flew between the lands ministry, the commission, Mashingaidze and Gwanzura.
Lands minister Anxious Masuka wrote a response to Gwanzura’s complaint about Mashingaidze’s conflicted involvement in the matter.
The letter reads in part: “Information on the ground indicates that you had an offer letter, which was issued to you by the district administrator [now district development coordinator] who at the time of issue was the lawful authority to issue land.
“Mrs Mashingaidze does not possess any valid documentation, which makes her an illegal occupant of the plot in question and has never been in possession of any such document.
“Clearly, the plot she claims to have ‘occupied as’ vacant was not vacant and was the subject of an on-going deceased estate administration.”
Masuka said as per determination by the Lands Commission, Mashingaidze’s allocation of land had many questionable elements which included the coincidence of her identifying a ‘vacant’ plot which happened to be part of an estate that she was administering and engaging the ministry to allocate her the same.
“As such I shall uphold the determination of the Lands Commission and proceed to refer you to the provincial director of lands to facilitate a valid permit to be issued to you,” the minister said.
Truth Diggers has established that Mashingaidze appealed against cancellation of her offer letter, but curiously directed her appeal to the ministry headquarters in Harare where the appeal was upheld. Ordinarily though, land matters are dealt with at provincial level.
So, today, a year later, Mashingaidze has gone back to Exwick Farm armed with the new offer letter albeit for a different plot on the same farm.
Interesting to note is that the new offer letter was apparently processed by the same Dendere who, over the past decade, has been elevated to the post of director of lands administration.
“We only saw her coming back to occupy one of the plots claiming that she had an offer letter,” said one of the plot holders.
“She had a case with one Zvakwana Gwanzura, who is outside the country.
“So she has occupied that piece of land, Plot 46, which was once occupied by Gwanzura whose determination was made by the courts.”
Contacted for comment, Mashingaidze said she had won her appeal against the Lands Commission determination.
“Yes, I appealed against that and the Lands ministry issued me with an offer letter last week,” she said.
“The Lands Commission’s determination was based on false information, so the ministry had to reverse that.
“I am one of the productive farmers in the area compared to others whose plots have been downsized and are now waiting for offer letters.”
Mashingaidze said the issue around her plot dates back to the time when Douglas Mombeshora was the Lands and Resettlement minister.
She confirmed that the Lands ministry was reallocating and renumbering the plots at Exwick Farm, which will see a number of plots being downsized and new occupants coming in.
There are no records of Mashingaidze at the provincial Lands office in Chinhoyi, investigations have revealed.
Truth Diggers is reliably informed that Mashingaidze was on Friday summoned by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) in Chinhoyi to prove her lawful occupancy of a plot at Exwick.
A docket under RRB 004624 has since been opened against Mashingaidze at the Zacc Chinhoyi office, investigations established.
However, Zacc’s communication and media liaison manager Simiso Mlevu had not responded to questions sent to her via WhatsApp last week.
Investigations also established that of the 48 original occupants of Exwick Farm, only seven had received offer letters from the Lands ministry.
Most of the new occupants, who include security agents and wealthy people from the cities, are armed with the legal documents to occupy the farm.
Among the newcomers with offer letters are a military officer occupying Plot number 60 and one Elizabeth Muzorora of Plot number 10 who locals say have been bragging about their proximity to power.
Insiders in the Lands ministry said the mapping exercise at Exwick Farm and many other farms across the country was being executed by a largely corrupt syndicate involving officers within the Lands ministry and other arms of the government.
“They are mapping and downsizing these plots to create space for their colleagues and wealthy people, who are able to bribe them for the offers,” said the insider.
State land is not sold in Zimbabwe but demand for land has enticed greedy lands officials to taking bribes or literally selling land to landless prospective farmers.
“Exwick is along the highway, close to Chegutu and not far away from Harare which makes it an idle area for ‘projects’.
“Imagine resettled farmers were told to send their details for the processing of offer letters in groups, but they are coming in bits and pieces,” said another farmer.
A farmer who spoke on conditions of anonymity said the plots at Exwick were limited to 48, but the number has gone up to 61.
“Apparently what it means is that the dogma of the mapping exercise was meant to determine the extra hectarage on big plots so that they can create some infills,” said the farmer.
“We know that the land falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Lands, however, if the system or methodologies of allocating land is hijacked by individuals who feel that they are above the law, then it leaves a lot to be desired.
“If the Ministry of Lands is downsizing, we should be advised so that we know, rather than confusing people like this.
“As much as we understand, there is a waiting list of more than 240 000 people across the country who want land, but that issue cannot be addressed by creating space at Exwick farm.”
He said the current mapping exercise was fraught with controversy.
“Why is it that a few people have the offer letters and the maps, but when they asked for our details we sent them as a group? Why are the offer letters trickling instead of them coming as a group?
“Why do you first issue an offer letter for a plot that does not have pegs? It all raises suspicion.”
Exwick Farmers Association (EFA), an organisation that represents farmers at the farm, early last month wrote a letter to the director of Resettlement in the Land ministry with regards to the mapping exercise at the farm.
“The farming community of Exwick farm has not received any form of feedback, since the programme started in 2021, from either the Chegutu district lands office or the pegging team from the Lands head office in Harare,” read part of the letter.
“We understand that tenure documents for a few beneficiaries are ready for collection at Chinhoyi provincial Lands office.
“The majority of farmers are not informed of why their offer letters are not available for collection. Why are the documents coming out in dribs and drabs?
“Surveyors have not yet come to show farmers their pegs and boundaries despite the fact that cartographers reportedly completed their mapping exercise in August of 2022.
“We believe that the ministry is aware of the fact that subdivision maps are critically important and necessary when farmers do their long-term land-use and management planning (five-year development plans).
“We are at a loss as to why the surveyors and cartographers have taken this long to come back to us.
“Surprisingly, though, some individuals who did not hold any title to land at Exwick farm before the mapping exercise have come to challenge some farmers, claiming that they have been allocated part of their landholdings and that they have both maps and offer letters issued to them by the Ministry of Lands head office.
“Have our subdivisions been downsized?
“As it is now, we don’t know the boundaries, so how does one plan farming activities? Is this downsizing a national exercise or it’s only Exwick farm and what is so special about Exwick?
The Lands ministry is yet to respond to the farmers.
Chegutu district lands officer Farai Mawomo referred this publication to the provincial Lands office, which could not be reached for comment.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Obert Jiri confirmed that land corruption involving personnel in the ministry was rampant.
“We have so many cases of that nature,” Jiri said. “Just Google and you will see that just recently a police officer and an Agritex officer were arrested.
“When we receive grievances we refer them to the inspectorate [a department made up of police and army personnel] who will investigate before the law takes its course.
“We also work with Zacc in fighting land corruption. You can talk to Zacc and they will tell you how we are collectively working to curb corruption.”
