Mnangagwa under fire from Epworth residents over slow title deeds rollout

HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s flagship Presidential Title Deeds and Settlement Regularisation Programme is facing growing criticism from Epworth residents amid concerns that progress on the ground has been slow more than two years after its launch.

The concerns were raised by Epworth Member of Parliament Zivai Mhetu during a constituency feedback meeting attended by about 3,000 residents, where he said the programme had delivered limited tangible results since its introduction in 2023.

Mhetu said only four people at the gathering indicated they had received title deeds, a situation he described as evidence of serious delays in implementation.

According to Mhetu, officials from the Epworth Local Board attributed the slow pace to staff shortages affecting land allocation, pegging and surveying.

He said he had written to Mnangagwa last year and was informed that Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi had been tasked with reviewing the application system being used.

However, Mhetu said no feedback had been received to date.

“I was told that the Minister of Justice was going to look into the application we are using for this programme, but up to now I have not received feedback,” Mhetu stated.

“I am hoping to receive that response in 2026.”

Residents expressed frustration over the continued lack of title deeds, which they said was worsening insecurity of tenure and encouraging criminal activity in unregistered settlements where houses are not formally addressed.

Mhetu warned that the absence of proper documentation was making it difficult for police to track suspects, contributing to lawlessness in some parts of Epworth.

The MP also raised broader service delivery concerns, including the quality of education in private schools operating in the area and the absence of a 24-hour medical facility.

He said many patients were dying while being transferred to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital and called for the upgrading of at least one local clinic to district hospital status.

“In 2026, I will engage relevant authorities to ensure that one of our clinics is upgraded to district status. We need facilities that can do operations, scans, X-rays and even have a mortuary,” he noted.

Policing was another major concern, with residents complaining about delays and poor service at the only police station serving an area with a rapidly growing population. Mhetu said some residents had stopped reporting crimes due to frustration with the system.

The Presidential Title Deeds Programme was launched by Mnangagwa in April 2023 at Epworth High School, where he handed over more than 265 title deeds and said over 11,000 had already been processed for the area.

The government described the programme as a key empowerment initiative aimed at improving security of tenure, access to credit and overall livelihoods, with plans to roll it out nationwide.

Epworth, home to more than 200,000 people, grew from an unplanned settlement established in the 1980s and remains dominated by informal housing.

Many residents continue to face vulnerability to land barons and disputes over ownership due to the absence of legal documentation.