Dr Tagwirei Calls for Citizen-centred System to Unlock Value of Zimbabwe’s land

HARARE — Land Tenure Implementation Committee (LTIC) chairperson Dr Kudakwashe Tagwirei has called for a coordinated, citizen-centred approach to land administration, saying Zimbabwe must move decisively towards making title deeds bankable so that farmers can unlock financing, investment and productivity from their land.

Dr Tagwirei made the remarks at a high-level stakeholder breakfast meeting in Harare on Thursday, where senior Government officials, farmers, financiers, investors and other stakeholders discussed land tenure reform, title deeds, bankability and agricultural investment.

The meeting brought together senior officials including Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Daniel Garwe, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka, Lands and Rural Development Minister Vangelis Haritatos and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.

Speaking in his capacity as LTIC chairperson, Dr Tagwirei asserted that  Government institutions needed to work as one system centred on the needs of citizens if the country was to realise the full economic potential of its land tenure reforms.

“No single ministry, institution or sector can deliver this transformation alone. It demands a whole-of-economy approach, so let me leave each constituency with one practical commitment.

“Government and ministries should build one coordinated system around the citizen, with published service standards, continued digitisation and inter-agency data integration. Banks and insurers must accept the deed as collateral, and build seasonal, asset-finance and insurance products priced for agriculture’s realities.

“Farmers, run the farm as a business ,invest, insure, produce and repay. This generation’s credit record prices the next. Private sector and investors should bring capital, technology and market access into titled value chains, from inputs to processing to export.

“The land professionals, valuers, surveyors and conveyancers, build capacity, speed and integrity from survey to registration. Development partners should help transfer knowledge, technical assistance, and international experience in titling, land markets, and rural finance.”

Push to make land deeds bankable

At the centre of the reform is the push to transform land tenure documents into bankable, registrable and transferable instruments, allowing farmers to use their land as collateral and gain improved access to agricultural finance.

Government decided in October 2024 to provide improved security of tenure to beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme who had been operating under 99-year leases, offer letters and permits.

 The reform is being implemented through a Cabinet Oversight Committee and the LTIC, with the objective of unlocking the economic value of agricultural and urban State land.

Zimbabwe's National Development Strategy(NDS) framework estimates that the programme will benefit about 23,500 A2 farmers and 360,000 A1 farmers, while the wider reform is intended to encourage investment and productivity by providing more secure tenure.

Dr Tagwirei said a title deed would only have real economic value if the institutions supporting it were trusted, efficient and predictable.

“For a title deed to have value, the system behind it must earn trust,” he said, warning that fragmented bureaucracy would undermine President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s call for a simple, accessible, transparent, predictable, digitised and accountable process.

“The landholder must experience one coordinated journey, from survey and valuation through to agreement, payment and registration of the deed itself. That is what the One-Stop Centre exists to deliver.”

The LTIC chairperson implored that  the reform should benefit all categories of landholders, with particular attention to women, young people and communities.

He called for women holding land in their own right to have equal access to financing, inputs and markets, supported through mechanisms such as the Women’s Development Fund.

Young people, he added, should also be  accommodated in the development of a modern, technology-driven and profitable agricultural sector.

“Communities must also find strength in secure tenure, with inheritance protected under law.”

From land security to economic value

Dr Tagwirei said the ultimate objective was to create a productive Zimbabwe in which secure tenure translates into access to capital and increased economic output.

“These are not slogans; they are a pathway. Secure tenure gives us the foundation. Bankability provides access to capital. Productivity creates economic value, and economic value drives national development.

“His Excellency the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, has outlined the objective in Vision 2030: ‘A prosperous Zimbabwe where all families possess land, cultivate it, and share in its benefits.’ … He has granted us access to the land. It is our responsibility to transform it into tangible results.”

The Land Tenure Implementation Committee is the technical committee established by Government to coordinate and steer implementation of Zimbabwe’s land tenure reforms. It works alongside a Cabinet Oversight Committee and is tasked with helping develop improved security-of-tenure instruments while unlocking the value of State agricultural and urban land.

Its work covers areas including legal compliance, valuation, digitisation, stakeholder engagement and the development of bankable land titles. The committee brings together stakeholders from areas including Government, banking, farming, women, youth, war veterans and the private sector.