Constitutional law expert Fadzayi Mahere has said the government cannot issue title deeds for farms that were seized and redistributed during the land reform programme without first amending the constitution, as doing so would be unlawful.
This follows the government’s recent appointment of the Land Tenure Implementation Committee, chaired by Kudakwashe Tagwirei, to convert existing land ownership documents (such as 99-year leases) into bankable, registrable, and transferable titles.
The goal is to enable farmers to use their land as collateral to secure loans from financial institutions.
However, Mahere argued that, at present, no law empowers the state to issue title deeds for agricultural land. She expressed her views on social media:
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At law, there are only 3 methods by which one can hold, use or occupy state land. These are by way of an offer letter, a permit or a lease.
There is no law that empowers the state to give out title deeds for agricultural land. The Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act says this expressly.
Ownership in state land vests in the State by operation of law in terms of section 72(4) of the Constitution.
All the previously held title deeds for this land were endorsed accordingly. Check the Deeds Office.
How would you purport to undo all that and start issuing new title deeds? There’s no legal mechanism by which such conveyancing can validly take place.
In short, it would be unconstitutional to alienate the land in the manner suggested. You would have to repeal section 72 of the Constitution in its entirety and effectively reverse everything you were trying to do during the Land Reform Program.
You’d have to amend the Constitution to create this imagined security of tenure. Stop lying to yourselves and the public.
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The government cannot give out title deeds for farms without changing the constitution first, says Fadzayi Mahere. They appointed a committee to make existing land documents more valuable. Farmers could use their land as collateral for loans. But Mahere says there is no law to give out title deeds for agricultural land now. This would go against the constitution. They would have to change the Constitution completely to do this. Mahere says the government is not being honest about this.

Government Cannot Issue Title Deeds For Farms Without Constitutional Amendment - Mahere

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday launched the Land Tenure Implementation Programme, a new policy that allows beneficiaries of the land reform programme to sell their land as well as use it as collateral to borrow from banks.
This represents a major change in Zimbabwe’s land policy, as previously resettled farmers were not allowed to transfer ownership.
However, land can only be sold or transferred to “indigenous Zimbabweans” (black Zimbabweans) and will require government approval.
The land reform, which began in 2000 under former President Robert Mugabe, saw tens of thousands of black Zimbabweans take over white-owned farms. 
The reform aimed to correct colonial-era land imbalances, but the new farmers were not allowed to sell or transfer land, which was considered state property.
This made it difficult for them to access bank loans, as they couldn’t use their land as collateral.
At a ceremony on his Pricabe Farm near Kwekwe, Mnangagwa and a few farmers received title deeds for their land.
He said that the new policy would help “unlock the value” of the land, making it both “bankable and transferable.” Said Mnangagwa:
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Land tenure security is critically important to Zimbabwe’s economic growth and development.
It encourages investment, improves agricultural production and productivity, and lifts many out of poverty into prosperity.
… the importance of more secure, bankable and transferable land tenure cannot be overstated. Such a tenure document is the ultimate empowerment tool for our farmers, especially war veterans and their children.
The title deed, which my Government has developed for issuance to farmers, will preserve security and spur investment for accelerated livelihoods’ upliftment and economic development.
My administration has, therefore, made a bold decision to empower the beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme by giving them tenure that will unlock the value of our land, allowing it to be used as collateral.
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Mnangagwa also announced a Land Tenure Technical Committee chaired by controversial businessman, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, to spearhead the process for other resettled black farmers.
Posting on X, former Harare East MP, Norman “Rusty” Markham, said:
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For the avoidance of doubt and the sake of clarity, KUDA in charge of the land tenure committee follows after abusing ZESA to a standstill from the Dema project, Kuvimba and MUTAPA shenanigans now controlled, now only the land left.
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More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwe's President Mnangagwa has a new policy where land reform beneficiaries can now sell or use land as collateral. In the past, they couldn't transfer ownership. Only black Zimbabweans can buy the land and government must approve. This helps farmers access bank loans. Mnangagwa says this will make the land more valuable and boost the economy. A committee will help other farmers get land titles. Some people are worried about who is leading the committee. The new policy aims to help farmers and boost the country's economy.

Mnangagwa Unveils Land Tenure Policy Granting Titles To Land Reform Beneficiaries

The Zimbabwean government announced a significant change to its land policy, permitting beneficiaries of past land reforms to sell or transfer their farms, but exclusively to “indigenous Zimbabweans.”
Speaking to the media after a cabinet meeting in Harare on Tuesday, October 8, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Jenfan Muswere, said that the new policy aims to “unlock value” and will provide farmers who benefited from the 2000 land reforms with a “bankable, registrable, and transferable document of tenure.”
The government has also implemented an indefinite moratorium on the issuance of new 99-year leases or permits for agricultural land.
This announcement may indicate the conclusion of Zimbabwe’s contentious land reform programme, which involved the seizure of land from white owners and its redistribution to indigenous blacks.
Below is the announcement by Muswere in full:
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The land reform programme was carried out for the purpose of divesting ownership of agricultural land from the minority white farmers to the black majority people of Zimbabwe.
The rationale of the land reform was to address the inequalities that existed during the colonial era and to ensure that every Zimbabwean had equitable access to his finite resource.
The constitution and other legislative provisions that deal with the administration of agricultural land have mechanisms and safeguards to ensure that the legacy and benefits of the land reform are protected and land reform is irreversible.
The noticeable new paradigm amongst Zimbabwean farmers, especially the majority of beneficiaries of land reform, is to regard and conduct farming as a business; as a source of both livelihood and means to increasing personal economic value. Our young people have positively embraced the land reform programme and now account for a significant proportion of the country’s commercial farmers.
The government has since 2008 put in place various programmes to assist farmers to be productive on the land. The support includes the Baccossi Inputs and Mechanisation Equipment; Maguta and the Special Grains Import Substitution Programme among others.
In the second republic, the country has witnessed and benefited from the government’s deliberate and complementary policy of incorporating accelerated infrastructure development which includes road construction and rehabilitation incorporating the much needed rural roads; dam construction; irrigation and housing development.
While our people are endowed with agricultural land resulting from progressive government policies, they continue to grapple with the following challenges:
1. Difficulty in accessing affordable, appropriately structured and adequate finance for sustainable commercial agriculture.
2. In the absence of security of tenure, the farmers are not sufficiently motivated to invest adequately and to develop robust infrastructure on their farms to enhance sustainable production.
3. The threat to land tenure, especially to successors entitled to land held by beneficiaries of the land reform programme (such as children or war veterans) arising from inheritance and fraudulent succession issues.
4. While the government conceived and implemented these positive programmes, there have been varying levels of accountability from the farmers with a significant proportion of the farmers feeling no obligation to pay back loans advanced.
Consequently, the government has remained saddled with debt emanating from unpaid agricultural loans by many farmers.
5. The menace of land barons who have little or no regard for our town and country planning laws and policies has put a strain on the local authorities’ infrastructure. The land barons develop haphazard and unplanned settlements with no basic services such as water, electricity, sewer reticulation and storm water drainage.
Against this background and in line with section 292 of the constitution read together with sections 289, 293 and 294 that obligates the state to give security of tenure to every person and to alienate for value agricultural land among other requirements, the government will implement the following measures:
1. All land held by beneficiaries of the land reform programme under 99-year leases; offer letters and permits will now be held under a bankable, registrable and transferable document of tenure to be issued by the government of Zimbabwe to beneficiaries. As such, beneficiries of the land reform programme will now have enhanced security of tenure to the land they legitimately hold.
This new policy will invariably be informed by the following guidelines:
a) Priority will be given to veterans of the liberation struggle, women and youths.
b) Security of tenure to all agricultural land regularised under this programme will at all times only be transferable among indigenous Zimbabwe.
c) The land targeted for the new land tenure system will exclude communal land that is under the jurisdiction of traditional chiefs.
2. Urban land will only be made commercially available to credible and approved land developers who will add value to the land in compliance with all relevant laws and protocols. Ultimately, the goal is to establish high quality housing developments in fulfilment of our vision of an upper-middle income society by 2030. Areas that are not in use within cities will be considered for development. Urban renewal, urban transformation and regularisation will also be given priority.
These agricultural and urban land measures will have a huge impact on our economic growth, and will unlock the full value of the land while enhancing the performance of our economy. This will facilitate accelerated investments in agriculture and associated value chains which include irrigation, dam construction, power supply and rural road construction.
The economic value enhancement on land will further unlock resources for the fulfilment of constitutional obligations related to land reform. All these measures will complement current efforts towards an upper middle income economy, which will be achieved by 2030.
The president has constituted a cabinet oversight committee chaired by defence minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri to lead this reform process.
A technical committee – the Land Tenure Implementation Committee (LTIC) – to coordinate and steer the implementation of this process will also be constituted.
These committees will work diligently to develop improved security of tenure for land beneficiaries, while ensuring that value of agricultural and urban state land is fully unlocked to guarantee inclusive and nationwide economic development. Detailed terms of reference have been developed for the two committees.
Accordingly, the government hereby issues an indefinite moratorium on the issuance of any new 99-year leases or permits for agricultural land.
In conclusion, the government remains committed to jealously safeguarding the gains of the liberation struggle including our precious land and everything beneath it. Never again will our land fall back into the hands of our erstwhile colonisers. The utilisation of this land will be guided by our time-tested mantra: Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo/Ilizwe Lakhiwa Ngabanikazi Balo.
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More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

The Zimbabwean government is allowing farmers who benefited from past land reforms to sell their land, but only to indigenous Zimbabweans. This new policy aims to provide farmers with a bankable document of tenure. The government has also stopped issuing new 99-year leases for agricultural land. The announcement may mark the end of the land reform program that took land from white owners and gave it to black Zimbabweans. The government wants to help farmers be productive, face challenges, and improve the economy. Committees will work on implementing the new policy, which aims to unlock the economic value of land and achieve an upper middle income economy by 2030.

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