Thousands of Epworth residents are still waiting for title deeds that were promised by President Emmerson Mnangagwa before the August 2023 harmonised elections.
A month before the elections, Mnangagwa promised to deliver 11 000 title deeds to Epworth residents, and Cabinet subsequently endorsed the Kwangu/Ngakwami Presidential Title Deeds Programme which was expected to provide the financial and technical support required for the issuance of the title deeds.
Mnangagwa even handed out 265 securitised title deeds to Epworth residents and promised to bring more when he launched the programme at Epworth High School.
However, <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200027536/zanu-pf-title-deed-bait-fails-to-materialise">NewsDay</a> has learnt that only a few ZANU PF activists were handpicked to receive the title deeds amid indications that the government has “forgotten” about the project. Said a source:
<blockquote>
Only a few were issued, those with close ties to ZANU PF. Land barons led by John Mabwe (co-ordinator and spokesperson for Kushinga Epworth Residents Trust) and Moyo are holding Epworth Local Board at ransom contesting the authenticity of the layout plans and general plans of Epworth… the surveyor general up to now is sleeping on duty.
</blockquote>
Mabwe said the layout plan did not correspond with a map that was made in 2001 when squatters received occupiers’ cards. He said:
<blockquote>
The layout plan that was used does not match the map. We have simply challenged this. A lot of elderly widows and orphans were left out of the 2022 layout plan which was not even approved by the Surveyor-General.
We want title deeds as early as yesterday but we want the right procedure to be followed and the right people to benefit.
In Ward 6 (Overspill Extension), the council pegged stands using a fake layout plan of Plan number H.O.F 8 and increased them from 3 856 to 3 904 to benefit some council officials (sic).
So the regularisation process is very scandalous. Council is doing what the High Court interdicted. That’s contempt of court.
</blockquote>
Epworth Town secretary Wilton Mhanda refused to comment to NewsDay on the matter.
Epworth North legislator Zivai Mhetu said residents had received deeds of grant, not title deeds. He explained:
<blockquote>
There is a difference between a deed of grant and a title deed. Development has to take place first, for instance, the installation of roads, among others.
When this happens, Epworth residents will be able to receive title deeds in both paper and digital form. Hence, I will be lobbying Parliament for the construction of roads in Epworth.
</blockquote>
A title deed is a legal document that provides proof of ownership over the property, real estate, and sometimes vehicles. It establishes ownership rights and serves as evidence of ownership.
A grant deed, on the other hand, is used to indicate the transfer of property or real estate from one party to another. Unlike a title deed, a grant deed does not necessarily provide proof of ownership.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Government Keeps Epworth Residents Waiting For 11 000 Title Deeds

Church leaders have condemned the desecration of Zinyengere Cemetery in the dormitory town of Epworth by sand poachers.
Reports indicate that several graves at the site have been exhumed, with the human remains thrown into the nearby Jacha stream by the sand poachers.
Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (MCZ) superintendent for Epworth Circuit, Reverend Josias Mudenda, said:
<blockquote>
I have gone to the graveyard many times to bury fellow church members, only to see what is happening there. It is an eyesore.
The Bible even says graveyards are sacred places. In the Bible, Nehemiah said he could not rest while the place of his fathers’ graves lies waste and the gates are consumed by fire, showing the respect he had for the dead.
I believe that graves should be walled and gated. The local authority needs to work with the community to protect this site.
</blockquote>
The sand poachers are said to be led by a man only known as Christopher.
Meanwhile, Isaac Chirimba, a senior resident of Epworth, criticised the sand poachers for disrespecting the dead. He said:
<blockquote>
These youths are very disrespectful. What they are doing is taboo. Invading a graveyard to earn a few dollars is unacceptable in our society.
Last month, we went to the cemetery to bury a relative and discovered that some of the graves were missing, much to our surprise.
We were shocked when we found a skull and bones scattered all over the place.
</blockquote>
Another senior citizen, Gogo Hilda Sithole, said the sand poachers have access to the graveyard after vandalising a perimeter wall that had been erected at the cemetery by locals. She said:
<blockquote>
Epworth is my home. I have been here with my family since 1960. We used to bury children in this place you now see as plain ground. There is nothing to show that there were graves there.
This is all the work of sand poachers, who will stop at nothing to get what they want.
</blockquote>
Epworth Local Board secretary Wilton Mhanda conceded that sand poachers were a menace but said the issue has been blown out of proportion. He said:
<blockquote>
Yes, there are sand poachers, but the situation is exaggerated. We usually conduct raids and culprits are brought to book.
</blockquote>
ZRP community liaison officer for Epworth, Sergeant Maliana Davis, said they were not aware of any cemetery invasion by sand poachers. She said:
<blockquote>
As Epworth ZRP, we are committed to duty. The last time council engaged us was, when some people were constructing houses in the cemetery. We worked together well on the matter.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/no-resting-in-peace-%e2%96%a0-sand-poachers-invade-graveyard-%e2%96%a0-greed-dwarfs-logic">The Sunday Mail</a>

Methodist Church Pastor Condemns "Desecration" Of Graveyard In Epworth

The Epworth Local Board has backed down from evicting an elderly woman following the intervention of the Human Rights NGO Forum.
The local authority instead, offered the woman, Mrs Magna Muromba, a regularised residential stand. Pindula News present the forum’s update on the matter.
<blockquote>The planned eviction of an elderly Epworth woman by Epworth Local Board that has dragged since 2020 took a twist today at the Magistrates Court as the local authority backed down and resorted to offer her a regularised residential stand.</blockquote>

<ul>
<li class="entry-title"><a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2016/11/16/minister-orders-eviction-illegal-settlers-epworth-pave-way-smes/">Minister orders eviction of illegal settlers in Epworth to pave way for SMEs – 2016</a></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>Mrs Magna Muromba, who is represented by Darlington Marange from the Forum, was facing eviction from the house she was occupying since 1997. She paid council registration fees and contributed rates from 2002 but the local board allocated her residential stand to another applicant on its list and instituted eviction proceedings.
During the hearing of the matter at the Magistrates Court in Harare today, the local board backed down and requested for the matter to be removed from the court row. Instead of being evicted as an illegal settler, Mrs Muromba will now be allocated a regularised residential stand in the same locality.</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw">Pindula News</a>

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