Army blocks Hatfield golf course housing plan

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces has clarified that Falcon Golf Course in Hatfield, Harare, has already been gazetted as a military cantonment area, effectively overriding recent proposals to convert the land into a residential suburb.

The clarification follows a public notice issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works proposing the rezoning of the Remaining Extent of Lot 227 Hatfield Township to allow the development of 17 low-density housing stands.

However, documents seen by The Herald indicate that the Ministry of Defence secured the property under Section 87 of the Defence Act through Statutory Instrument 28 of 2026, placing the land under the control of the Air Force of Zimbabwe as a protected defence cantonment area.

In correspondence dated 29 April 2026 addressed to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Air Vice Marshal Biltim Chingono confirmed that the military had already initiated land-use and planning procedures concerning the property.

"Following the Ministerial approval of the reclamation of Falcon Golf Course to the Air Force of Zimbabwe… the Ministry of Defence has processed gazetting of the same property as a Defence Cantonment area," the letter reads.

The Air Force further stated that it had not applied for a change of use for residential development and that the property was not intended for housing stands.

Instead, the military said the land would be used for purposes to be disclosed at a later stage.

According to the documents, the reclamation process began in July 2025 when the Air Force approached the Ministry of Local Government seeking assistance in remapping the golf course and correcting land tenure records.

In October 2025, the ministry approved the request, with senior official Mlindeli Sayi confirming efforts to identify gaps in the property documentation.

The Air Force planning team is also expected to work with the Department of Roads and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe as preparations continue.

Although residents had been invited to submit objections to the proposed residential conversion within 30 days, the gazetting of the land under the Defence Act effectively places the property under military jurisdiction, prioritising national security considerations over urban development proposals.