The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE Teachers’ College is embroiled in a nasty land wrangle with private developers over a 10-hectare piece of land adjacent the Golden Peacock Hotel.
Some of the developers have started construction work on the disputed land, thereby prompting the college to seek legal redress.
The land is covered in Mutare Teachers’ College’s Master Plan and earmarked for the construction of an innovation hub, a multi-purpose sporting facility, staff houses and guest houses.
The MTC Master Plan was drawn up by the Department of Public Works in 1992.
However, with the passage of time, the land was partitioned and parcelled out to several individuals who now hold ownership documents.
MTC principal, Mr Abison Mutubuki, said the college has since engaged its lawyers to seek a court interdict to stop construction works on the disputed site.
“The college’s strategic direction is being frustrated by some individuals at the Department of Spatial Planning in Manicaland. They are working in cohort with some individuals at the State Lands Office in Harare.
“This is corruption and abuse of office. A thorough investigation needs to be carried out to get to the bottom of this rot.
“We have engaged our legal team with the aim of obtaining a court interdict to stop construction works on the site,” said Mr Mutubuki.
Contacted for comment, Mr Mike Dube, one of the private owners of the land in question, said MTC has no legal basis to claim ownership of the land.
Mr Dube said a Master Plan is not evidence of land ownership.
“I acquired my piece of land from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works in 2016. I received a call from the responsible office back then informing me that my application had been successful. They asked me to regularise the paperwork for my 11 937 square metres.
“I made a payment and was given a lease agreement which I am still holding. I made an application to get my piece of land surveyed. This was done through the Department of the Surveyor General.
“When we moved in to start constructing our structures, we were advised by Mutare Teachers’ College that they are an interested party on the piece of land. I had a meeting with them last week. The meeting was attended by the college principal, vice-principal, chief director and two other delegates from their parent ministry.
“We requested for a document which shows that they are the legal owners of the piece of land and they only produced a Master Plan diagram showing their intention.
“According to my knowledge, a piece of land can only be owned by a title deed holder, agreement of sale or a lease agreement from the local planning authority, in this case the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works,” said Mr Dube.
The Physical Planning Officer, Mr Fungai Munyama, who was in the Manicaland office when the land ownership transfer occurred, has since been transferred.
Mr Munyama referred all questions to their head office in Harare.
“I suggest you get in touch with the Director of the Urban State Land Office in Harare who has jurisdiction over urban State land management,” said Mr Munyama.
However, repeated efforts to get a comment from the Harare office were fruitless as this reporter was referred from one office to the other.
