The battle for Harare South continues. . . As Ushewekunze residents finally get reprieve

…Stoneridge residents at each other’s throats

Stories by Tendai Chara
“The Ministry of Lands has since confirmed that the land has been acquired by Government and by virtue of that confirmation, this office has since corrected the omission to indicate that the farm was acquired by Government and Crest Breeders International is no-longer the owner of the remaining extent of Saturday Retreat.”
Stoneridge residents are up against each other as the battle for the control and ownership of the sprawling Harare South settlement intensifies.
A copy of the settlement’s notorial deed lists Zealous Nyabadza, Frances Madyazvivi, Tendayi Makore, Moses Makuwaza and Artwell Shiripinda as the only trustees of the Stoneridge Residential Trust.
The residents have since passed a vote of no confidence in the Artwell Shiripinda-led management committee, which is being accused of hijacking the project and abusing funds.
The deed clearly states that the five will take over the development of the suburb from Amalish Investments and was, therefore, mandated to collect contributions from the beneficiaries.
A residential trust account was subsequently formed with Nyabadza and Makuwaza as the signatories.
A financial audit which was conducted in 2015 unearthed gross abuse of more than $200 000 from the account.
An interim committee led by Mrs Theodore Sandu is accusing the Shiripinda administration of hijacking the project after allegedly acquiring the deed illegally.
Mrs Sandu said the 1 573 residents were duped when the deed was acquired.
Following the misrepresentation, the interim committee alleges that only the five people are now listed on the notarial deed of trust as the owners of the settlement.
Mrs Sandu chronicled how the former management committee ended up being the owners of the settlement.
“Initially, we bought the stands from a company called Amalish Investments, which was owned by the late businessman Mr Rixon Musarurwa. We had agreed with Mr Musarurwa that he was the one who was going to service the stands but he passed on before accomplishing the task,” Mrs Sandu said.
According to Mrs Sandu, a committee comprising of 13 members was elected to oversee the development of the settlement.
“We drafted a constitution which stated that six people were to be signatories to the residents’ trust account. However, Mr Zealous Nyabadza and Moses Makuwaza went behind our backs and opened an account in which they were two signatories,” added Mrs Sandu.
Mrs Sandu said residents were shocked to discover that only five people were listed on the notarial deed as the owners of the settlement.
“The five went behind the residents’ backs. As it stands, they are acting as if they are the joint owners of this settlement. They are selling stands without our knowledge and have shared 10 residential stands among themselves,” Mrs Sandu said.
The interim committee has since reported the five to police and have also written to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to investigate the circumstances that led to the opening of the trust’s bank account.
“These people are abusing our money and are as a result living like kings. We want the settlement to be returned to its rightful owners – the residents,” Mrs Sandu said.
However, Mr Shiripinda dismissed the allegations, saying the people making the allegations are power hungry.
“This is a futile exercise. These people have been everywhere – the police, courts and the Reserve Bank, among other places. They have and will not succeed in their attempts. The deed is just an enforcement tool which is used to compel residents to pay,” Mr Shiripinda said.

. . . As Ushewekunze residents finally get reprieve

For Harare South’s Ushewekunze residents, “it’s not over until it’s over.”
The residents of the sprawling settlement have taken their battle for the control and ownership of the sprawling settlement into the new year after getting a reprieve in their fight with CFI Holdings over the control of Saturday Retreat Farm, now known as Ushewekunze.
In December 2015, the residents wrote to the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement requesting to know the status of Saturday Retreat Farm.
In a letter signed by eight co-operative chairpersons, the residents appealed for the ministry’s intervention.
“We are appealing to you, our highest office in the land.
‘‘We, as co-operative chairpersons, are confused by the actions by CFI agents who are claiming and threatening to evict our members, accusing them of staying on their land. May we please know if the farm was really acquired by the Government . . .” reads part of the letter.
In response, the Ministry advised the residents that the farm is State land.
“Saturday Retreat Farm is State land acquired by the State by virtue of a deed of settlement signed into between the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement and Crest Breeders International in 2013.”
“In terms of the said deed of settlement, the occupants of the said farm prior to its acquisition are supposed to pay for their respective stands to Crest Breeders International at a price of $4 per square metre. Upon full payment of the price for the stand, the stand holders will be given title to the land by the State,” read part of the response.
The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs; through the Register of Deeds also confirmed the acquisition of the farm in writing. Part of the letter, which was signed on behalf of the Chief Register of Deeds reads: “The above property has been endorsed acquired by Government around 2005 but unfortunately the endorsement was not signed by the Registrar of Deeds either by error or omission.”
“Since it was not signed by the Registrar, we wrote a letter to you indicating that the owner was still Crest Breeders International as per deed of transfer 4035/86. Upon enquiring by the occupants who insisted that the land had been acquired, we referred them to the Ministry of Lands to clarify the position of the farm.”
“The Ministry of Lands has since confirmed that the land has been acquired by Government and by virtue of that confirmation, this office has since corrected the omission to indicate that the farm was acquired by Government and Crest Breeders International is no-longer the owner of the remaining extent of Saturday Retreat.”
Although the pronouncements came as a relief to the residents, they are now facing new challenges.
Mr Joseph Manjengwa, the chairman of the Teachers Union of Zimbabwe Housing Co-operative, says some residents are taking advantage of the pronouncements to illegally allocate land.
“We now have people who are parceling land illegally. The pronouncements brought with them chaos as some of the land barons are now illegally parceling land in buffer zones and wetlands,” Mr Manjengwa said.
He called upon Government to intervene and clear the mess.
“We are urging Government to call for a stakeholders’ meeting where outstanding issues will be ironed out.
“This must be done as soon as possible since the situation is getting out of hand,” Mr Manjengwa said.
Mr Zondai Mutudza, the chairperson of the Chevhu Housing Co-operative wants the issue of payments to be clarified.
“Currently, we are paying land levies, council rentals and compensation to CFI. Personally, I think this is too much. Government must intervene so that our members are not financially drained,” Mr Mutudza said.
Following the announcements, the residents are now pooling resources together as they work towards getting a Certificate of Compliance.
“We are now working towards the construction of roads and both the water and sewer systems. Once we accomplish these things, we will then be in a position to apply for title deeds from Government,” added Mr Mutudza.