VICTORIA Falls councillors have reversed the controversial allocation and sale of prime municipal land to Vanele Moyo Trust after conceding that the transaction was illegal and procedurally flawed, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.
Minutes of the Health, Housing and Community Services Committee meeting held on August 28, 2025, show that council officials acknowledged issuing an offer letter for a 6 950-square-metre stand to the trust without conducting proper due diligence.
The land in question, stand 8394, was designated strictly for community use, a status protected by government policy that prohibits local authorities from converting community land to private use.
A government circular seen by the Independent explicitly bars councils from disposing of land reserved for community purposes for any use outside local authority functions.
“Council on the 26 of May 2024, made an offer letter erroneously to Vanele Moyo Trust without proper due diligence,” the minutes seen by the Independent read.
“The department observed that the said piece of land was a reserved stand for community use, of which there was an old circular from the ministry prohibiting the change of use of community land to other uses outside local authority use.”
Despite this restriction, council proceeded to issue the offer letter on May 26, 2024. By the time the irregularity was detected, Vanele Moyo Trust had already paid for the stand and commenced construction of a perimeter wall.
The purchase price of the land was not disclosed.
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To avert potential legal action, council management recommended withdrawing the allocation and identifying an alternative stand for the trust in consultation with the planning department.
“Vanele Moyo Trust had since paid for the land, and there was an ongoing development of the construction of a perimeter wall on the site,” the minutes state.
“In light of the above, management was being sensitised on the withdrawal and allowing the department to work with the spatial planning department to look for alternative land as a replacement, since the Trust had already paid in full for the piece of land.
“The proposed approach would help avoid litigation, reducing the risk of lengthy and costly legal battles, management acknowledges the allocation, approves the withdrawal and allows an alternative site be identified as a replacement for the stand.”
However, further complications emerged during deliberations when members noted that council policy requires a public tender process for the sale of stands exceeding 4 000 square metres.
Committee members, therefore, proposed that any replacement stand be capped at 4 000 square metres to comply with the housing allocation policy.
“A member proposed that the matter be deferred so that members are furnished with the names of directors of Vanele Moyo Trust and why the offer letter was erroneously issued without proper due diligence. Another member seconded the proposal,” the minutes record.
“Another member made a counter proposal that council should proceed as per management recommendation to rectify errors and be progressive.
“After a stalemate, the committee chairperson supported the alternative site be identified as a replacement for the stand in compliance with the housing allocation policy and the stand identified be not more than 4 000m2.”
Efforts to obtain comment from Victoria Falls Mayor Thuso Moyo and town clerk Ronnie Dube were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
The Independent sought clarity on the process used to dispose of community land to Vanele Moyo Trust, the valuation of the stand, and the current status of the reversal process. No responses had been received at the time of going to print.
