Vusumuzi Dube
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
Mthwakazi Queens-UK (MQUK), a women’s organisation focused on helping women develop self-worth, build reliance and create economic and social stability for their families and communities, recently received a land subdivision permit, allowing them to initiate land development operations that had been stalled due to administrative issues.
Sub-division is the process of dividing a piece of land into smaller residential units. This is normally done on land that is bigger than 5000 square meters in Zimbabwe.
An overview of land subdivision process in Zimbabwe involves surveys, press notices, preliminary plans, council applications, permits, deeds. This process involves Surveyors, Architects, Engineers, and Legal Practitioners for a swift success.
The subdivision of land in Zimbabwe is in terms of PART VI of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (Chapter 29:12). Subdivision can only occur after a subdivision permit has been issued.
A subdivision permit is granted with certain conditions (section 40). These include the setting aside of land for road and public purposes, the payment of a percentage of the value of each subdivision (commonly known as endowment), development of roads and piped culverts and financing of installation of water.
In an interview with Sunday News, MQUK founder, Sazini Malaba confirmed that they had since managed to get the permit.
“We are pleased that we are now set to continue with our project which we had started on before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world,” she said.
The Hwange-born and United Kingdom-based socialite and entrepreneur said with the the permit they could now fulfil their vision of getting the land and building socio-economic projects that empower women and local communities.
“Women empowerment and development is key for us hence we are purchasing this land so we can develop various projects. It is never an easy journey; we have been waiting for our permit for a long time.
“The process of sifting through various offices trying to make sure we achieve our goals has been challenging as sometimes we would hit a brick wall. We are grateful, perseverance has paid because we now have the permit and our project can move forward,” said Malaba.
“An application for a permit to subdivide is made to the local planning authority in such manner and shall contain such information as may be prescribed and shall be accompanied by the consent in writing in terms of section 40(1) of the Act. Section 40(2)-(9) of the Act details what happens after the application has been lodged with the local authority,” she added.
“There are several reasons why a land owner would want to subdivide land. One of the major reasons is to create smaller stands that can be sold to other people for purposes stipulated in the permit. Property can also be subdivided so that some parts may be donated to a spouse, child or shared within legally stipulated entitlements” said Malaba.
Malaba, however, bemoaned the challenges they have encountered.
“The delay in getting our permit has affected us massively. We lost some investors, impacting us negatively as some members ended up losing faith in the project and the organisation as a whole. As of now, we are currently working hard to gain people’s trust and honour again by ensuring that this project is successful going forward.
“Now that we have the permit, ladies are excited but it has dampened the spirit we had before. And of course some of the ladies have withdrawn from the project due to the false accusations that were peddled in the media by those against development, who had the intent of tarnishing my name, labelling me a scammer/fraudster.
“We would like to apologise to all our members for the delays and officially announce that the organisation is still going ahead with the project, and we are keen to also take on newly interested investors” she added, underscoring that they are at a stage of drawing out their title deed from the seller.
This project becomes the first ever successful project conducted by a women’s diaspora group/organisation.
Established in 2015, the organisation consists of women in different regions across UK providing support based on cohesive relationships. The organisation also runs other projects that include Birthday groups, Burial groups, Car buying schemes and Home improvement schemes.
Mthwakazi Queens UK has also twice won the People’s Choice Community Group Awards in 2016 and 2017, organised by All Women Achievers Awards an organisation that acknowledges and celebrates achievements of women thereby inspiring and motivating other women to reach their potential. They were also nominee for the National Diversity Awards under the Community Organisation for Gender in 2022.
Their current projects are spearheaded towards this stated land and another which is in the Killarney area in Bulawayo.
Online Reporter