The Land Tenure Systems in Zimbabwe
The land holding rights and obligations in Zimbabwe find their expression in the country’s four main systems of land tenure, namely the freehold (private), state land, communal and leasehold (resettlement) systems. The tenure systems impact and shape the property rights and natural resource access regimes that exist in the country. With the exception of the resettlement tenure system, the other three systems are largely part of the country’s colonial heritage.
The freehold tenure system is prevalent in the commercial farming sector which consists of large scale and small scale commercial farmers and occupy about 32% of the country’s land area of 39 million ha. This sector is characterised by individual land ownership. The registered land owner has exclusive property rights and full control and responsibility over the land and everything attached to it except to the extent that ownership and exclusive control over the land and some natural resources may be limited by statutory provisions. Such limitations relate to changes in land use, controls over public water courses, felling of indigenous timber resources and controls on wildlife. It is often argued that freehold tenure provides land owners with incentives to conserve and improve the natural resource base.
The communal land tenure system is governed by the Communal Lands Act and is applicable to 42% of Zimbabwe’s land area, where approximately 66% of the country’s population resides. According to the Communal Lands Act, all communal land is vested in the State President who has powers to permit its occupation and utilisation in accordance with the Act. Communal Area inhabitants thus have usufructuary rights over communal land. Rural District Councils, on the other hand, have a dispensation to allocate land to qualified persons on behalf of the State. Resettlement areas cover 10% of the country and are a product of the post independence period targeted at relieving population pressure in communal areas and have no title. It is often argued that the communal land tenure system is a disincentive to long term investment in agriculture and other key natural resources such as forests. Consequently, the highest rates of deforestation occur in the communal and resettlement areas. To address the land tenure related problems, government set up a Land Tenure Commission in 1994 to among other things, review the current land tenure systems and make appropriate recommendations (Land Tenure Commission Report, 1995). However, some of the key recommendations related to the communal land tenure system have not yet been implemented.
The State set aside 15% of the country as gazetted/protected forests (2%) and national parks (13%). These offer good examples of in situ conservation and sustainable use of Zimbabwe’s biological heritage.
Land Distribution and Tenure Issues
The scope for improving citizens’ land rights is shaped by the current limited scope of high quality land, weaknesses of the existing multiform land tenure system, shortcomings in the manner in which land was redistributed, as well as deficiencies in the land administration system. Citizens’ land rights are undermined in different ways in each land tenure regime....more
Land and the Constitution