President Emmerson Mnangagwa is intentionally delaying the return of properties confiscated from ZPRA veterans, according to Andreas Ethan Mathibela, a faction leader of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA).
Mathibela argues that if Mnangagwa had the authority to resolve this issue with a single decision and had the willpower to return the properties, he would have already removed the caveat preventing their transfer back to the veterans.
He also criticised the lack of action on the issue, despite a board being established to facilitate the return of over 100 properties previously owned by ZPRA veterans.
Mathibela said without the removal of the caveats, the process remains futile.
“In my view, the president has no willpower, he simply does not want to give us,” he said.
After the 1987 Unity Accord, Mathibela said there were political announcements that those properties would be returned but up to today, the caveat remains in place.
“What is stopping the government or the president from giving back those properties?” Mathibela questioned.
The properties, seized during the 1980s Gukurahundi atrocities, were initially promised to be returned under the Unity Accord between Zanu and ZAPU.
However, more than three decades later, veterans are still waiting for their rightful assets, which include farms, transport companies and real estate.
Mathibela expressed frustration with what he described as political posturing by the government, stating former President Mugabe had similarly failed to honour promises to lift the caveat.
“The same thing is being done by our current president,” he added.
He also raised concerns about the use of ZPRA properties, giving the example of Nijo Farm near Domboshava, which is currently under development without any consultation or compensation to the veterans.
“You ask if it’s ZPRA who are doing the development, it’s not. CBZ is involved, and there was no compensation or consultation,” Mathibela said.
“That property also could have changed our lives for the better. Here we are in the spirit of unity. We are short changed. It’s just not fair.”
Mathibela added they had another property called Snake Park and even owned transport cargo carriers, which he alleged was now owned by “(Billy) Rautenbach, (a Zimbabwean businessperson).”
The war vets leader warned the veterans were growing increasingly frustrated with the government’s inaction and could resort to legal action if the issue is not resolved soon.
“We are trying to reason with our government persuasively, but if that fails, going to court will be our last resort,” Mathibela said.
“Whether it was one or two property, what remains a thorn in our flesh, is the lack of willpower by our president who has a singular authority, to simply remove the caveat and say ‘there you are.’”
He added that returning the properties was one of the conditions of the Unity Accord.
“But we are talking of more than 30 years now and they keep on saying, ‘we are going to give you.’ They create boards and structures but a single man, who is the president of the land, can simply remove the caveat.”
Mathibela said his association suggested that the properties board led by Volta Moto meet them and give them an update but police banned the meeting.
“I suspect that the so-called board upon hearing that we wanted them to report to us on progress among other things rushed to police to say don’t give them the light of the day,” he said.
The board later called a press conference on the status of the properties.
Read: https://cite.org.zw/nitram-chair-reassures-veterans-zpra-properties-return-imminent/
Richard Ncube, ZNLWVA Secretary for Agriculture, also weighed in on the matter, saying the call for the return of the properties has been ongoing since 2001, with Vice President Joseph Msika.
“Msika was asked by the chairman of the Bulawayo province, Nkala, how he could say we can have Castle Arms back without documentation. Mnangagwa was minister of state security then and he was the one who was said to remove the caveat. This was in 2001,” he said.
Ncube claimed there was some chicanery in place because it was inappropriate for the government, which confiscated the properties to require victims to identify them.
“The board has been here for two years and Tshinga Dube is now late. This will now be an advantage to them, another delaying tactic. They are going to say wait until we identify another person who will work with you,” he said.
“This is wrong. After the Unity Accord, the properties should have been returned and the president was also there at that time in 1987. We don’t want to go back to that where we demonstrate. The president should remove the caveat. Even if the properties are valueless he must return the properties back. We will see what to do.”
