Public Land Management, Corruption, and the Quest for Sustainable Secondary Cities in Zimbabwe

Following peri-urban land reform, the state owns significant land in secondary cities of Zimbabwe. Public land ownership raises governance issues because the power to allocate public land is of great economic and political importance and has become a focus of corrupt practices. Public land management is an issue because it is dominated by a top-down process that encourages favours to special interests and promotes polarisation to obtain such favours. This chapter examines a variety of opaque and corrupt practices in public land management that privilege favoured entities. A case study approach was used to gather data from publications, reports, and key informants. Based on content and thematic analysis, the chapter draws the main conclusions and policy advice on the goal-directed management and control of public land in secondary cities. It demonstrates how influential people have been using power structures to make money from public land management. The solution to the problems requires political will and the transfer of public land ownership to local authorities rather than individuals for sustainable and responsible management.