A Domboshava headman is fighting hard to stop villagers under his jurisdiction from selling land to newcomers because the area has already run out of space.
BY OUR STAFF
Headman Murape, whose real name is Tendai Gilbert Mungate, said he had embarked on a verification exercise to determine the number of people who live in villages under his jurisdiction.
“I am announcing at every funeral or any other gatherings that people must not sell land to newcomers,” said Murape. “At the moment, I am carrying out a verification exercise to establish the number of people who live under me.”
Some people, he said, sub-divided their residential stands and sold them, resulting in serious crowding, as well as a decline in food production.
Most of the newcomers settled in Domboshava before Murape — who has 54 village heads under him — was installed headmen two years ago.
Murape said he was discouraging people from building homesteads in areas that were not allowed by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), such as wetlands.
“The problem is I cannot destroy houses that have already been built,” said Murape. “It is against the law.”
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Goromonzi West MP, Beatrice Nyamupinga last week said overcrowding in Domboshava was threatening food security as well as exposing villagers to health disasters.
She promised to work closely with the community to deal with the problem.
