Evidence Chenjerai

Zimbabwe’s land delivery system is at risk not because of a shortage of good intentions but because of fragmentation, the chairman of the Estate Agents Council (EAC) of Zimbabwe has said.

Estate Agents Council (EAC) chairman Desire Dube

EAC chairman, Desire Dube said this during the official opening of the second edition of the EAC Zimbabwe National Land Conference recently held in Vumba, Mutare.

Running under the theme, “From Title to Capital — Delivering Bankable Tenure Through Data Integrity, Institutional Reform and Intergenerational Stewardship,” Dube said the main agenda of their annual conference was to unlock capital value from land in a holistic, systematic and sustainable manner that would also benefit future generations.

“Zimbabwe’s land reform remains stalled at an intermediate stage. Beneficiaries of the fast-track programme hold permits and offer letters. Yet financial institutions do not uniformly recognise those instruments as collateral. The gap between de facto occupation and de jure financeability is the single greatest friction point in our land market,” he said.

Adding, “Millions of our people are, in the language of economics, asset-rich and capital-poor. They occupy land they cannot borrow against. They hold rights they cannot transact. They sit on what is, in truth, dead capital — not because the asset is worthless, but because the documentation around it cannot speak the language of finance.”

He revealed that the land market pressures Zimbabwe faces are rapid urbanisation, informal settlement growth, tenure insecurity, speculative behaviour and the challenge of financing serviced land, which he cited as a regional phenomenon that Zimbabwe could learn from those that have successfully implemented, instead of reinventing the wheel.

“When a home-seeker loses their savings to a land baron, we have failed in the most elementary duty of a regulated profession. But when tenure is bankable, when data is trustworthy, when institutions coordinate and professionals uphold ethics, then land becomes capital — capital that builds houses, funds businesses, secures pensions, educates children and anchors communities. That is the transformation this Conference exists to advance. In return, you should expect from the Estate Agents Council accountability, transparency, continuity and follow-through. We will report back on the outcomes of this Conference,” he said.

Dube said as EAC the major challenges they want to tackle head on through their Zimbabwe National Land Conference initiative were guided by four pillars focusing of the chain of title, data integrity, sustainability as an intrinsic property value and intergenerational stewardship.

Dube said a holistic land development chain should involve estate agents, developers, planners, surveyors, valuers, conveyancers, financiers, local authorities, environmental regulators, water authorities, infrastructure utilities and ultimately the consumers.

“It also involves Government ministries, statutory bodies and provincial and district structures. But where these actors operate in silos, the result is entirely predictable characterised by delays, disputes, duplication, regulatory arbitrage and reputational risk, with the costs passed down to the home-seeker,” said the EAC chairperson.

He added that their debate at the conference centred on the digital chain of title is actually in tandem with the National Development Strategy (NDS) 2 on operationalising its land and property rights

target.

“When we interrogate infrastructure obligations and compliance monitoring, we are giving effect to the NDS 2 servicing mandate. When we strengthen consumer protection against land barons and fraudulent documents, we are protecting the NDS 2 investment climate. When we debate densification, smart cities, GIS, modular housing and local building materials, we are executing the NDS 2 urbanisation vision. When we insist that environmental compliance and climate-risk data sit inside the title record, we are aligning NDS 2 with Vision 2030 and the Zimbabwe National Human Settlements Policy. So we are not therefore a talk shop outside the national plan. We are an instrument of the national plan,” said Dube.

The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Honourable Ziyambi Ziyambi who was represented by the permanent secretary in the Ministry, Vimbai Nyemba, officially opening the conference concurred with EAC that the manner in which a nation governs, administers and secures land has implications far beyond an individual property transaction. He added that it affects the protection of rights, fiscal development, public confidence, investment and the ability of land to contribute productively to a nation.

The Justice Minister said bankable tenure is not created by the title deed alone but by the confidence that surrounds the title.

“I believe that confidence rests on reliable information, effective institutions and a legal framework that enables rights to be verified, protected and enforced. When these elements work together, secure tenure can facilitate access to finance, support investment and unlock the productive value of land. This is particularly important as we implement the National Development Strategy 2 from 2026 to 2030 and advance towards Vision 2030. Our collective task is to strengthen a tenure system that provides certainty, facilitates investment and supports national development,” he said.

Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi added that from Government’s perspective, the rule of law is fundamental to securing bankable tenure.

“At the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, we recognise that land rights must have a clear legal basis, be properly recorded where registration is required, be capable of verification and be effectively protected and enforced. The integrity of the legal framework is consequently inseparable from the integrity of the land administration system.”

The Justice Minister added that laws are not cast in stone which is why they have a new mandate as Government to improve on existing laws to reduce delays and uncertainty, strengthen safeguards against fraud and build confidence in the land market.

“In doing so, we can turn title into a practical pathway to investment, financial inclusion and sustainable socio-economic development. As we strengthen tenure security, our legal and institutional frameworks must evolve with the needs of society and the economy. Laws are not carved in stone, they are living instruments that must keep pace with development, urbanisation, smart cities, digital conveyancing, new financial instruments and regional integration,” he said.

The two days conference also drew delegates from Rwanda, Zambia and Botswana that shared their experiences.