Aspiring homeowners urged to desist from buying residential stands from land barons
Daniel Garwe
AS government is in the process of regularising informal settlements in most urban areas countrywide, a call has been made to citizens to desist from buying residential stands from land barons.
With the housing waiting list in urban Harare said to be over two million, government says people should not continue to buy stands from criminals posing as council officials or those working with officials.
Thousands have lost millions of dollars to suspected or known land barons, especially in Harare as they seek to own properties.
Addressing journalists in Harare, Local Government Minister, Daniel Garwe said members of the public must not buy land from unscrupulous elements.
He highlighted the need to regularise all the informal settlements across the country.
“If we are to speak of an upper middle income economy status by 2030, we need to make conscious decisions, not only the central government, but all Zimbabweans to ensure that we regularise. How do we start it? It starts with you and me.
“Please stop buying land from land barons. That is the first call on regularisation.
“We now have structures put in place to ensure that you can come to the Minister of Local Government, you can go to any local authority and be able to get information of the availability of a stand in the area of choice if they are there. So, stop buying land from criminals. That’s the first step of regularisation,” Garwe said.
For already existing informal settlements such as Caledonia and Harare South, a budget is now in place to ensure that government engages developers to do servicing and put water, sewer and roads infrastructure.
“We want residents to participate. How do they participate? If they are desirous of having a title deed, they pay for the land first.”
Garwe reiterated land belongs to the State and the public should be made aware that land barons were stealing government property and parceling it out to unsuspecting homeseekers.
–NewZW
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