Property owners in rural and remote parts of Zimbabwe risk being excluded from the government’s title deeds validation and securitisation programme due to high costs, limited access to services and inadequate public awareness, Parliament has heard.
Raising a point of national interest in the National Assembly, Bulawayo North MP Minenhle Gumede said while efforts to modernise land administration and strengthen property rights were welcome, concerns were growing over the affordability and accessibility of the exercise.
The title deeds validation and securitisation programme, being implemented through the Digital Land Administration platform, is aimed at improving the integrity of land records, strengthening property rights and protecting citizens from property fraud.
However, Gumede warned that the costs associated with the process could place a heavy burden on ordinary Zimbabweans.
“For many families, US$200 represents several months of disposable income. For pensioners, civil servants, widows, informal traders and many low-income households, such costs are simply beyond reach,” she told Parliament.
She said a programme designed to safeguard property rights should not become a source of financial hardship and exclusion.
Gumede expressed particular concern for property owners living outside major urban centres, noting that many of the services required to complete the validation process remained concentrated in Harare and Bulawayo.
“Property owners from other provinces, particularly elderly citizens, pensioners and those residing in rural communities, may face significant travel, accommodation and administrative costs in accessing this process,” she said.
According to the legislator, many rural residents may struggle to comply with the requirements not because they are unwilling, but because of practical barriers such as limited access to conveyancing services and information about the programme.
She warned that without adequate decentralisation and stronger public awareness campaigns, many law-abiding property owners could find themselves disadvantaged despite having legitimate ownership documents.
Gumede called on the government to provide clarity on whether participation in the exercise is mandatory, whether existing title deeds remain legally valid pending validation, and what safeguards are being put in place to protect vulnerable groups.
She also urged authorities to consider subsidising or waiving validation fees for pensioners and low-income earners and to decentralise services to all provinces to make the programme more accessible.
“Land and home ownership are matters of dignity, security, inheritance and economic empowerment. Reforms in the sector must balance modernisation with affordability, inclusivity and social justice,” she said.
The intervention comes amid growing public debate over the title deeds validation exercise, with critics questioning its cost and implementation while government argues that the programme is necessary to secure property records, reduce fraud and modernise Zimbabwe’s land administration system.
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