Former ZANU PF Youth League political commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu has taken an apparent swipe at Local Government and Public Works Permanent Secretary Tafadzwa Muguti, whose string of outspoken remarks since his appointment has drawn growing criticism.
On Tuesday, Muguti addressed a meeting in Harare with chairpersons of provincial assemblies of chiefs, directors of local government services and district development coordinators (DDCs). He criticised village heads for illegally selling land, a practice popularly known as “sabhuku deals”.
He told the meeting that communal land was not for sale and that traditional leaders, including village heads, had no legal authority under the Communal Land Act to sell it for housing or farming. He said people should not buy land in rural areas that were not their ancestral homes, and that those who had bought land from village heads should leave it.
Critics, however, have taken issue with the tone he used in addressing traditional leaders.
“A whole Permanent Secretary must not behave or talk like a street activist mhani. Chiiko chakadaro ichocho? (What kind of behaviour is that?)” Tsenengamu wrote.
ZANU PF Youth League Deputy Secretary for Commissariat Taurai Kandishaya also appeared to push back, arguing that Zimbabwe is one nation and citizens should be free to build homes wherever they choose, regardless of where they come from.
“There is no problem kuti munhu akazvarirwa kuGwanda azonovakira musha kuMt Darwin (There is no problem with someone born in Gwanda building a home in Mt Darwin). We are one nation, one people!” Kandishaya wrote.
Muguti has made a series of public pronouncements since becoming permanent secretary, not all of them well received.
He recently told chiefs to stop recording court cases and posting them on social media, arguing that the practice undermines the dignity of traditional courts and discourages communities from reporting disputes. He also suggested banning cellphones from chiefs’ courts to protect confidentiality.
Lawyer and politician Fadzayi Mahere responded that he had no legal power to make such declarations.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply