Nafco made a mistake: minister

 Prof Anna Tibaijuka.PHOTO|FILE 

By Lauden Mwambona,The Citizen Correspondent

In Summary

The minister said the title deed shows that Nafco gave Kapunga Rice Project Limited 7,370 hectares of land that involve the whole village instead of 5,500 hectares only.

Mbeya. Land disputes between villagers and an investor over the Kapunga Farm has taken a new twist after the minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Prof Anna Tibaijuka, cleared the investor, saying it was the government that has some problems.

The villagers have been locked for some times in dispute with Kapunga Rice Project Limited over the investor’s plan to take the whole village land that has at least 4,400 residents.

In a bid to resolve the dispute, Prof Tibaijuka convened a two-hour closed door meeting with village leaders.

The Kapunga village chairman, Mr John Nyoni, said in 1995 villagers provided 5,500 hectares of land to the National Agricultural and Food Corporation (Nafco) for special rice production programme.

He said Nafco provided the land to the investor who is now claiming another 1,870 hectares from villagers’ farms, which is almost the whole village.“So far, the investor has already taken a school, village dispensary land and that he is now eying the whole village land,” Mr Nyoni said. But according to Prof Tibaijuka, the government has discovered that Nafco made a mistake during the registration of the land on which the whole village land was registered under a single tittle deed.

The minister said the title deed shows that Nafco gave Kapunga Rice Project Limited 7,370 hectares of land that involve the whole village instead of 5,500 hectares only.

“I have realised that Nafco made a mistake, this means the investors has no problem, his title deed shows clearly that he owns 7,370 hectares of land, which is the whole village in that case,” she said, adding that she was looking forward to asking the investor to hand over the title deed so that changes could be made.

However after a long discussion with an investors and a touring trip to the farm, the Minister told reporters that the government will discuss the matter with the investor and see what will be the consensus.