PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa Tuesday afternoon received damning evidence involving 431 cases of individuals who abused their positions to illegally distribute State land in and around urban areas since 2005.
Government land costing more than USD$3 billion is said to have been sold through a well-orchestrated runaway process which left government tied to an unplanned infrastructural development programme.
The tax evasions run into hundreds of thousands of dollarsas Zimra has been recommended to audit sales to ensure taxes owed or evaded are made right.
All rules of planning and construction were wantonly breached, noted the report compiled by a Commission of Inquiry into matters of sale of State Land in and around Urban areas led by Supreme and Constitutional Court Judge Justice Uchena.
According to the findings, Harare Metropolitan Province tops the list of these of land barons.
The inquiry established that of the 91 farms in urban areas 71 of them were sold for residential purposes resulting in a chaotic manner, whilst some farmers converted agricultural land to urban settlements.
The shocking evidence revealed that one land owner in Manicaland owns land that exceeds the whole of Rusape Urban.
It also revealed that Housing cooperatives are not being supervised hence they are mushrooming in all urban areas in Harare.
To flush out corrupt elements, the inquiry suggested lifestyle audit for the officials that are associated with land allocation and sales for urban developments.
It also suggested that all undeveloped allocations to individuals, cooperatives or companies be cancelled.
