PPC Zimbabwe land sale faces legal challenge

A multimillion-dollar land deal involving cement giant PPC Zimbabwe has hit a major legal snag after a housing cooperative claimed ownership of the same property.

PPC Ltd, in a notice to shareholders last week, announced it had concluded a US$30 million deal to sell 418 hectares of land at Arlington Estate, Harare, to a private property developer. The company said it regained the title deeds in December 2024 following protracted disputes with the government over compulsory acquisition and determined the land, which lacks limestone deposits essential for cement production, held no commercial value for its operations.

However, the Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative has now filed a summons in the High Court of Zimbabwe, asserting it is the lawful owner of Subdivision E of Arlington Estate, covering 530 hectares, based on an offer letter granted by the Ministry of Local Government in 2006. The cooperative claims senior government officials, together with private entities including PPC Zimbabwe and Clean Planet Resources, attempted to undermine its ownership rights.

Court papers allege that the defendants fraudulently created title deeds and subdivided land that had been allocated to the cooperative's members nearly two decades ago. "The offer letter is still extant and has never been withdrawn. It is therefore illegal for defendants to carve out and sell land lawfully allocated to the plaintiff," the cooperative's declaration states.

While PPC has assured shareholders that all necessary approvals for the US$30 million transaction were obtained, Nyikavanhu Housing Cooperative insists prior court orders and ministerial recognitions of its claim have been ignored, setting the stage for a protracted legal battle.