Government and all its arms should establish a single, coordinated system centred on the needs of citizens if Zimbabwe is to realise the full economic potential of land tenure reforms, Land Tenure Implementation Committee (LTIC) chairperson Dr Kudakwashe Tagwirei has said.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholder breakfast meeting in Harare on Thursday, Dr Tagwirei said unlocking the full value of the country’s land required a “whole-of-economy approach”.
“No single ministry, institution or sector can deliver this transformation alone. It demands a whole-of-economy approach, so let me leave each constituency with one practical commitment.
“Government and ministries should build one coordinated system around the citizen, with published service standards, continued digitisation and inter-agency data integration. Banks and insurers must accept the deed as collateral, and build seasonal, asset-finance and insurance products priced for agriculture’s realities.
“Farmers, run the farm as a business – invest, insure, produce and repay. This generation’s credit record prices the next. Private sector and investors should bring capital, technology and market access into titled value chains, from inputs to processing to export.
“The land professionals, valuers, surveyors and conveyancers, build capacity, speed and integrity from survey to registration. Development partners should help transfer knowledge, technical assistance, and international experience in titling, land markets, and rural finance,” he said.
Dr Tagwirei said title deeds would only have real value if the systems supporting them were trusted and efficient.
He said a fragmented bureaucracy would undermine President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call for the title deed process to be simple, accessible, transparent, predictable, digitised and accountable.
“The landholder must experience one coordinated journey, from survey and valuation through to agreement, payment and registration of the deed itself. That is what the One-Stop Centre exists to deliver.”
The LTIC chairperson said the benefits of land tenure reform should reach all categories of landholders.
He said particular attention should be given to women who hold land in their own names, ensuring they have equal access to financing, agricultural inputs and markets, including through support from the Women’s Development Fund.
Young people, he added, should also be fully included in efforts to develop a modern, technology-driven and profitable agricultural sector.
“Communities must also find strength in secure tenure, with inheritance protected under law,” Dr Tagwirei said.
He said the main goal of the reforms was to create secure tenure and bankable land that would contribute to a more productive Zimbabwe.
“These are not slogans; they are a pathway. Secure tenure gives us the foundation. Bankability provides access to capital. Productivity creates economic value, and economic value drives national development.
“His Excellency the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, has outlined the objective in Vision 2030: ‘A prosperous Zimbabwe where all families possess land, cultivate it, and share in its benefits.’ … He has granted us access to the land. It is our responsibility to transform it into tangible results.”