Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
MATABELELAND South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Cde Albert Nguluvhe, has warned traditional leaders from the province to desist from selling communal land saying the Government will not treat truant leaders with kid gloves.
He made the remarks at the close of the recent inaugural Tshiṱaudze Heritage Festival at Tshiṱaudze Cultural Village in Mpande, Beitbridge. The event drew thousands of people from Zimbabwe and South Africa, including traditional leaders from various provinces.
Minister Nguluvhe said the illegal sale of communal land had brought chaos in many communities where in some instances people are settled on land designated for grazing or on sacred sites, causing serious social disharmony.
He said such practices were fuelling boundary disputes, family conflicts and environmental degradation while undermining Government’s efforts to promote orderly settlement and sustainable land use under devolution.
“Traditional leaders must stop selling communal land. That land does not belong to an individual chief or headman so they cannot dispose of it as they wish. It belongs to the State and is held in trust for the people,” said Minister Nguluvhe.
“All settlement of people must be done through legal platforms involving the Rural District Council, the District Development Coordinator and the Ministry of Lands, with the full participation of traditional leaders.”
Minister Nguluvhe said Government had noted with concern an increase in cases where desperate home seekers are sold land in wetlands, grazing areas and sacred places, leading to clashes with host communities.
“This idea has brought chaos, where in some instances people are sold land on designated grazing land or settled in sacred land, causing social disharmony. People should be settled through legal platforms,” he said.
Minister Nguluvhe said the Government will not hesitate to take action against traditional leaders who continue to defy the law, adding that the era of treating offenders with kid gloves was over.
He also used the platform to rally the community behind heritage-based development, saying the Tshiṱaudze Festival aligns directly with Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2.
He said the festival theme: “We Build the Nation Through Culture,” captures President Mnangagwa’s philosophy that a nation is built and governed by its own people.
“Look around you. The crafts, traditional foods, Venda, Sotho, Shangani, Pfumbi and Ndebele fashion, artefacts and agro-products on display; this is our economy. Every stall is a job created, and every product sold is income for a family in Beitbridge,” said Minister Nguluvhe.
He said communities must preserve culture, support SMEs and promote tourism hence the need to improve access roads to cultural sites.
Addressing youths at the festival, Minister Nguluvhe urged them to embrace their languages and traditions as an anchor against drug and substance abuse while encouraging women and SMEs to register with ZimTrade and SMEDCO to access bigger markets.
