Former Public Service Minister Patrick Zhuwao is challenging the withdrawal of his offer for his farm in Zvimba, The Herald reports.
Zhuwao is set to lose his farm after it emerged that he had abandoned the farm since 2011. In the court submissions citing the Agriculture Minister Perence Shiri as the first respondent, Zhuwao said:
On the 9th of December 2004, I was offered subdivision 1 of Cockington in Zvimba District, in the province of Mashonaland West, which is approximately 232.81 hectares in extent, he said.
The offer was made in terms of the Agricultural Land Resettlement Act (Chapter 20:01). I accepted the offer and a clear contractual agreement between the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement and myself
Despite all the challenges of vandalism of electrical infrastructure and theft, I have been farming to the best of my farm’s potential in the circumstances..
Withdrawing my (offer) letter on the basis of unsubstantiated and spurious allegations without investigating the veracity of such allegations is a gross substantive and procedural irregularity. I
am, therefore, not in breach of any of the terms and conditions attached to the offer. Since I was allocated the plot I have been farming tobacco, cereal crops, sunflower and poultry
The matter is yet to be heard before the courts.
More: The Herald