Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
Eddie Pfugari Properties, the developer behind the Whitecliffe Farm Housing Project, has welcomed Cabinet’s approval of the compensation model for settlements established on private land.
The company described the move as a major milestone in resolving one of Zimbabwe’s longest-standing land regularisation issues.
The company said it was ready to engage the Government and immediately begin processes to formalise the Whitecliffe settlement.
The development will benefit over 11 000 households, including beneficiaries of the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle Programme.
The Government had settled people under the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle Programme on a piece of land owned by Eddie Pfugari Properties.
Cabinet, during its 33rd session last week, approved the ‘User Pays Principle’ for compensating landowners whose properties were used for housing projects.
Under this model, beneficiaries will pay the full development costs, including the land value, servicing and other related expenses.
The Government will facilitate negotiations between landowners and residents to enable direct purchase agreements over a specified period.
Following these developments, the Government and Eddie Pfugari Estates agreed on US$44 million as compensation for the Whitecliffe Farm land.
Eddie’s Pfugari Properties managing director, Mr Edward Nyanyiwa (Jnr), commended President Mnangagwa and his Cabinet for what he called a decisive and visionary intervention.
“As Pfugari Properties, we are grateful for the resolution made by Cabinet. We want to thank the President very much for being a visionary leader who does not just talk but also puts things into action,” he said.
Mr Nyanyiwa (Jnr) said the move reaffirmed the Second Republic’s commitment to providing quality and secure accommodation for its citizens.
“We are very grateful that the Government has taken the initiative that we now need to regularise Whitecliffe Farm.
“We believe the initiative also resonates with the views and ideas of the President that people should have a title to where they stay. It gives them peace of mind. It gives them the tenure that they deserve, knowing peacefully that no one is going to come and remove them,” he added.
Reflecting on the two-decade-long dispute, Mr Nyanyiwa (Jnr) said the Cabinet decision marked a turning point that would bring relief and closure to thousands of affected families.
“We are grateful to the Cabinet for approving such. We do believe it is a very critical thing that they have done to the nation, not just to Pfugari Properties to compensate us only but to the nation at large because all those families are going to benefit from it.
“As a company, we welcome the development. We cannot wait to further engage with the Government on the modalities of how we are going to regularise Whitecliffe. “The road is now clear. There is now light at the end of that long tunnel,” he said.
The company said it has been sitting on a High Court eviction order which was granted in 2012, but resolved not to execute it on humanitarian grounds.
Mr Nyanyiwa (Jnr) said people on about 850 hectares of Whitecliffe Farm are haphazardly settled.
“We simply decided to support the national vision. Today, the Government shares the same vision; that is to regularise Whitecliffe Farm,” he said.
Speaking at the post-Cabinet media briefing last Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said the approved model would be replicated in all areas where Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle beneficiaries or other people moved onto private or misallocated State land.
An Inter-Ministerial Committee will oversee the programme’s implementation.
Dr Muswere said some of the benefits of the “User Pays Model” are that beneficiaries are assured of security of tenure, as they will be issued with title deeds under the Presidential Title Deeds Programme.
The issuance of title deeds will add value to the properties, provide access to basic services and enjoy the benefits of properly planned settlements.
Dr Muswere said it will be easy to enforce order in such settlements and reduce criminality.
Government and local authorities will realise revenue in the form of rates and levies paid by the beneficiaries. With the compensation framework now in place, the Government and Eddie Pfugari Properties are set to work closely to formalise the Whitecliffe settlement.
This will pave the way for lawful ownership, proper servicing and the long-awaited peace of mind for thousands of families.
