Thupeyo Muleya

Beitbridge Bureau

MATABELELAND South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Albert Nguluvhe has reinforced his call for traditional leaders across the province to stop selling communal land, warning that Government will not treat truant leaders with kid gloves.

He made the remarks on Sunday during the close of the inaugural Tshiṱaudze Heritage Festival at Tshiṱaudze Cultural Village in Mpande, Beitbridge.

The event ran from Friday to Sunday and 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 the 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 to dispose of as they wish. It belongs to the State and is held in trust for the people,” said Minister Nguluvhe.

“All settlement 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.”

The minister warned that the Government has 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.

He 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.

Minister Nguluvhe 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.

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 under devolution, Government is mandated to preserve culture, support SMEs and promote tourism, and as a province it has committed to improving access roads to cultural sites, supporting festivals through Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and devolution funds and connecting local producers to regional markets.

Addressing youths at the festival, Minister Nguluvhe urged them to embrace their language 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.

He said Beitbridge, as the busiest inland port in SADC, must leverage heritage tourism to complement border trade and create jobs for young people.