Citizens have raised concerns over the necessity, affordability and transparency of the government’s title deeds validation and securitisation programme, questioning whether the exercise could expose property owners to fraud, political interference and additional financial burdens.
The concerns emerged during an X Space hosted by Asakhe Online, where members of the public engaged Deputy Chief Registrar of Deeds, Companies and Intellectual Property, Thulani Sibanda, on the programme being implemented under Statutory Instrument 76 of 2025.
Several participants questioned why property owners were being required to validate their title deeds when ownership records were already held by the Deeds Registry.
One participant, identified as Champion, said authorities could simply digitise existing records and allow property owners to verify their details rather than requiring them to undergo a validation process.
“Why do we have to do it this way instead of just doing a take-on balance because the list of people who own title deeds is already there?” he asked.
Champion also criticised the US$200 validation fee, arguing that it would be unaffordable for many Zimbabweans.
“I don’t think US$200 is a good fee, especially looking at a population where the majority of people are poor,” he said.
Others questioned whether the institutions responsible for implementing the programme could be trusted to safeguard property records.
A participant identified as El Godo said many title deed fraud cases had allegedly originated from within the system itself.
“The problems with title deeds started at the Deeds Office. It was people working at the Deeds Office who were facilitating the forgery of documentation,” he said.
He also questioned whether the programme had been adequately planned and whether property owners should be expected to surrender original title deeds to a process that some members of the public did not fully understand or trust.
Participants further expressed concerns about the potential manipulation of digital records, particularly in cases involving disputed or politically sensitive properties.
Others sought clarity on whether the digitisation initiative would eventually be extended to local authorities and other institutions involved in property administration.
Responding to the concerns, Sibanda said the programme had been introduced to address longstanding challenges associated with paper-based title deeds, including fraud, loss of documents and deteriorating records.
“There is a public problem. Title deeds are being tampered with, title deeds are being lost and the integrity of records is being depleted,” he said.
Sibanda said the current validation exercise represented the second phase of the digitisation programme.
He explained that the first phase involved scanning records already held by the Deeds Registry into a digital database.
“What we are doing now is verifying whether the title deed in the owner’s possession is the same as the one in our records so that we ensure we have an accurate record system,” he said.
He said the exercise was intended to create a secure and accurate digital platform that would protect property owners from fraud and preserve ownership records.
Addressing concerns about the validation fee, Sibanda said government had weighed the costs against the benefits of securing property rights and reducing the risk of fraudulent transactions.
On fears that digital records could be manipulated, he said the aim was to establish a system with greater integrity and security than the current paper-based model.
Sibanda added that the digitisation initiative involved multiple stakeholders, including local authorities and the Surveyor-General’s Office, as part of broader efforts to modernise Zimbabwe’s property administration systems.
The title deeds validation programme has generated significant public debate since its introduction, with supporters arguing that it will strengthen property rights and reduce fraud, while critics have questioned its cost, implementation and potential impact on homeowners.
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