Be wary of bogus land barons

Pardon Gotora Features Correspondent
One day, a sales representative of a certain housing trust was performing her routine duties, marketing what her company had on offer.
She entered a Government building in a bid to lure civil servants to join their housing schemes dotted around the country’s major cities and towns.

I understand she started on the first floor of a 20-storey Government building, going up floor by floor and hopping from one office to the other.

She was laden with “weapons of mass distraction”, her company’s pamphlets, membership forms, stop order forms and membership cards.

Whoever did the graphic designing of their pamphlets is an expert. They can compete with any other marketing aids used worldwide. Of course, the bulk of the buildings shown there were from the internet.

Unknown to her that one of the offices she entered happened to be a department responsible for housing countrywide, she came into our office where I met her.

She was really up to speed with her marketing skills, an indication that she was determined to get as many civil servants as she could in a single day.

Unfortunately for her, she had no time to gaze at our walls to see some of the layout plans pasted of some projects we were disposing of at the time.

The terms and conditions were broken down as follows; US$10 membership fee, non-refundable, payable at the office (address given), raise a deposit of US$800 within three months and you would be “shown” your stand, then you pay US$100 per month for five years after which you would be given your title deeds and start building.

Very interesting, isn’t it. One could choose from high to low density stands countrywide and they were allegedly working with Government in that respect.

I asked her which Government department they were working with? Coincidentally it was our department.

I asked her some of the projects that they were working on at the time, she mentioned a project in Harare that is currently being serviced by Government and I know the project like the back of my hand.

The rest is history. Imagine what happened to those who had no idea about the projects in question, considering the terms and conditions and the level of desperation engulfing the home seekers?

In my previous article titled “Government to house civil servants” published in this paper on February 6 2014, I mentioned in passing about bogus land developers.

Taking an extract from that article, I mentioned that “the majority of unscrupulous land barons have taken aim at the low-income earning civil servants to fleece them of the little they have in their pockets through dodgy land deals”.

The bulk of them aim at the civil servants because of their stable incomes and they are quick to entice you to sign the stop order forms so that the “favourable instalments” would be deducted at source as a risk mitigatory strategy.

Thus the land barons will be guaranteed of stable income from the Salary Service Bureau or any other Government paying agent, yet there will be no stands to show for those religiously paying to the “developer or trust”.

It is interesting how such housing development “trusts” have blossomed in the US dollar era and how gorgeous their names and corporate colours are.

One will be tempted to join because of the marketing skills that the staff members possess.

Ironically, even those within the housing fraternity could be convinced to join them if they are not careful.

A lot of housing co-operatives have joined in this land scam as well and the Government needs to do something to protect the innocent and vulnerable home seekers.

Any real land developer will confess that to dispose of genuine stands is by no means a stroll in the park.

Usually, the pricing for the fake stands are too good to be true. One cannot sell stands as if he is selling an insurance product where the recruitment is infinite.

Assuming you have a membership of one hundred thousand subscribers for your trust, where on earth will you get land to allocate them?

In the event that there is a membership of 20 000 and each is paying a monthly contribution of US$100, it means they will collect a total of US$2 million per month and per year it will be US$24 million.

Oh, what a fortune, out of nothing. Most of them end up leading lavish lifestyles from the “poor man’s money”, driving posh cars and living in the plush suburbs.

In as much as there are empowerment programmes by the Government, others are manipulating the window to fleece people of their hard earned money.

In some instances I have come across people who have a tendency of verifying the authenticity of the “developer” or “trust” after they have contributed in excess of us$2 000. Honestly, very few people take time to, at least, read the clauses in the membership forms that they sign when joining because they “will be in a hurry”, and the same clauses where they append their signatures, will come back to haunt them. I have heard cases where those who seek refunds, are advised that 30 percent of their contributions will be deducted as administration fees.

For example, 30 percent of US$2 000 is US$600, meaning that the company owner can still float from the 30 percent retention without developing a single stand while recruiting new ignorant and innocent members.

Every day we see a lot of adverts in the Press about properties on sale. A lot of sales representatives are being employed, but some of the deals are unorthodox. A lot of estate agencies and housing co-operatives are emerging, some registered and some not. Some are genuine while the majority are fake. It is for this reason that some informal settlements have emerged. We have read of some who have already appeared before the courts of law while others are still scot-free. The Government is left with no option but to demolish the same. The policy will say, there will be no eviction without alternative. But, at whose cost are the houses demolished and alternative provided?

Yet the land baron is walking free? I think the land dealer should be compelled to meet all the costs involved in this absorbing endeavour.

I would like to urge all the prospective home seekers to seek guidance from the respective authorities before committing a cent towards the purchase of a stand or house. Here are a few tips, though not exhaustive, that may be of assistance to you.

Check for the company’s registration with the Registrar of Companies or of the co-operative with the Registrar of Co-operatives;

Check for the status of the land they are claiming to own with the respective local authority (council), the Deeds Office, Housing Department and the State land Office in the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing,
Check whether the layout plan was approved by the Department of Physical Planning in the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing – the Department of Physical Planning, either at provincial level or head office;

Check if they possess a development permit issued by the Department of Physical Planning;

Check with the Deeds Office whether the survey was approved.