Experts warn: “Our most valuable resource is underperforming”
Zimbabwe’s vast land assets — once the centrepiece of one of Africa’s most radical reform programmes — are contributing only 2.6 percent to national GDP, compared to an African average of 12 percent.
The figure, revealed by CBZ Group CEO Lawrence Nyazema at the Estate Agents Council (EAC) 2025 Land Conference in Victoria Falls, has jolted delegates and reignited debate on whether the country’s land is truly working for its people.
“These gaps are not just numbers,” said Nyazema. “They are missed opportunities for job creation, investment, and wealth building.”
The disparity exposes what many participants called Zimbabwe’s unfinished business of land reform — a system still struggling to translate ownership into economic productivity and investor confidence.
Experts at the conference pointed to three main bottlenecks; weak land administration and documentation, limiting access to finance, insecure tenure, undermining confidence and long-term planning and underdeveloped property and capital markets, choking investment flows.
Legal expert Lloyd Mhishi, of Mhishi Nkomo Legal Practice, said formalising ownership could transform the entire rural economy.
“Value lies in formality,” he noted. “When land has a clear legal identity, it becomes bankable and productive.”
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UCAZ Secretary-General Livison Mutekede warned that peri-urban sprawl is consuming agricultural land at a dangerous pace.
“We must move beyond reactive development,” he said. “Without disciplined spatial planning, we risk trading food security for chaos.”
Zimbabwe Land Commission Commissioner T.R.W. Bare delivered a blunt reminder:
“The true measure of success in land administration lies in implementation.”
Despite robust policies and reforms on paper, experts said execution remains fragmented and inconsistent, slowing progress toward a functional land economy.
Speakers including Dr. Mike Juru and Dr. Yvonne Munanga called for modern, fit-for-purpose systems that combine technology, sustainability, and affordability.
They argued that a strong, transparent land registry and investor-friendly tenure laws could help close the gap between Zimbabwe’s 2.6 percent output and Africa’s 12 percent benchmark.
As the EAC 2025 Land Conference enters its final day, the message is loud and clear: land must now move from politics to productivity.
Zimbabwe’s land reform once promised empowerment. Two decades later, the numbers tell a harsher story — a nation rich in land but poor in return.
All images: Estate Agents Council of Zimbabwe Estate Agents Council of Zimbabwe
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