Thousands of teachers from across Zimbabwe have fallen victim to a scam orchestrated by land barons posing as property developers. The educators, mostly members of the Zimbabwe Teachers Union (Zimta), have lost a staggering US$5,000 each over five years, with monthly subscriptions of at least US$75.
The scam was exposed when teachers were supposed to be shown the residential stands, only to discover that the land did not exist or was not legally available for sale. The projects were allegedly run across the country, with Zimta provincial leadership overseeing the processes. Deductions were effected through the Salary Service Bureau (SSB), leading the teachers to believe that the project was authentic.
The scam has left the teachers financially strained, with some taking the legal route to reclaim their funds. However, they are facing hurdles in recovering their money as the so-called land developers are nowhere to be found. In some instances, they have learned that the union leaders who were spearheading the project resigned, leaving the teachers with little hope of recovering their money.
“I started paying for the contributions in 2021, I was paying US$75 for a residential stand in Rusape,” a teacher, who requested anonymity, said. “It was a project where we were members together with other teachers. We were shown the site map of the area and the agreement was that we would be allocated the stands after four years. It looked authentic. But now we are being told the land developer is nowhere to be found. We can’t even trace him. We do not even know him.”
Zimta secretary-general Goodwill Taderera said the union was aware of the complaints and was addressing the issue. However, he said the housing projects were being conducted at provincial level across provinces, outside national executive management. Taderera said when the union tried to use the legal route to recover its members’ funds, the alleged land developers were nowhere to be found.
SSB paymaster Twoboy Shoko could not say who benefited from the teachers’ contributions. “The affected teachers should inquire with those they claim they were paying. The duty of the paymaster is to pay those he is directed to pay,” he said. “So if there was a directive from the teachers to pay whoever was paid, they should check with them whether they received the funds or not.
source-Newsday
