By Shepherd Masunda, Senior Reporter
The Cabinet last week approved the “User Pays Principle” to compensate landowners whose properties were used for housing projects. Under this model, beneficiaries will pay the full development costs, including land value, servicing, and other related expenses.
Addressing Whitecliffe residents at Mbuya Bona Primary School, ZANU PF Member of Parliament for Zvimba East, Cde Kudakwashe Mananzva, said residents should await guidance from the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the implementation of the “User Pays Principle.”
“I understand there are some people circulating wrong information to residents. That is why I am here today for clarity. Everything now is from the Ministry, and we must wait to hear from them,” said Cde Mananzva.
Cde Mananzva also warned residents against land barons and cautioned them not to buy land without proper documentation.
“Land is everything, and as a country, we fought for it. Let us preserve what we have; do not sell land without proper documentation,” he said.
Rodgers Madzivanyika, a Whitecliffe resident, welcomed the Government’s move and urged other residents to listen to the correct information from official sources.
“Today, Hon. Mananzva came with the correct information from the Ministry. Once our regularisation exercise is over, residents will breathe a sigh of relief,” Madzivanyika said. “Regularisation of the land is good as it paves the way for other developmental projects in our community.”
Following these developments, the Government and Eddie Pfugari Properties agreed on US$44 million as compensation for the Whitecliffe Farm land.
Eddie Pfugari Properties, the developer behind the Whitecliffe Farm Housing Project, described the agreement as a major milestone in resolving one of Zimbabwe’s longest-standing land regularisation issues. The Government had previously settled people under the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle programme on land owned by the company.
