Title Deeds: Zanu PF sells dummy to supporters #ElectionsZW
By Joel Mandaza
Zanu PF on Saturday failed to deliver title deeds it had promised to its supporters in the run-up of its by-election campaign launch.
Thousands of Epworth residents and property owners from other ‘irregular’ settlements, born out of parallel development processes thronged Epworth High School hoping that the ruling party would avail title deeds to their stands as promised.
In the run-up to the event, Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa had promised that President Emmerson Mnangagwa would hand over title deeds.
“The signature act of the Epworth visit will be the granting of title deeds to the existing stock of urban houses, which the people have but are dead capital.
‘’We decided as a party in the Politburo and our President championed it that we shall be giving title deeds to urban people. This is a big bank, it is historic because it is a signal to urban people that people in an urban setting you have a history of credit on your own, because credit is what drives a modern economy because people right now have no title. They cannot go to the bank and borrow money,” said Mutsvangwa.
Creating hype around the event, he said this process will mark the beginning of the establishment of a mortgage bank.
“So the President will be there to give each one an address and an identity. From there the person can go to the bank, we are going to create the biggest mortgage bank in the country since independence, simply by this act of giving dead capital a new lease of life and giving every urban Zimbabwean with a history of a house title deeds,” he said.
On Saturday, many who had travelled on the hope of leaving the event with legal documents cementing their claim on the land they occupy were left disappointed, as the party reneged on its promise.
President Mnangagwa, addressing the rally, told the expectant crowd that the time and place was not appropriate.
“There was a suggestion that I give title deeds here, but I felt that there should be a separate event to do so. We can’t give title deeds out at a rally, I turned down the request,” said the President.
In the run-up to the rally, many had questioned how the party was trying to lead in giving out title deeds when there is a government ministry responsible for that.
This raised vote-buying suspicions.
Title Deeds: Zanu PF sells dummy to supporters #ElectionsZW
