Mnangagwa approves proposed massive army hospital, school project

The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) is planning to construct a US$200 million modern hospital and boarding school at Springs Farm in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, in a project aimed at improving access to healthcare and education for military personnel, war veterans and their families.

The proposed development is being pursued through a partnership between the ZNA and the Sovereign Spring Properties Consortium, which comprises ZANU-PF members, retired senior military officers, war veterans and their children.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has approved the proposed projects, which form part of a broader urban development initiative planned for the property. The development is expected to be financed through a US$200 million facility from a local financial institution.

The planned hospital would serve serving and retired military personnel as well as members of the public, offering specialised medical services and advanced treatment facilities.

The boarding school would cater for children of military personnel and other learners, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The projects are expected to create employment and stimulate economic activity in surrounding communities through construction, healthcare, education and related services.

The proposed hospital could also help strengthen Zimbabwe's domestic healthcare capacity and reduce reliance on expensive treatment abroad. However, the extent of any savings would depend on the facility's eventual services, equipment, operating costs and capacity.

The consortium says the wider development aligns with the country's National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and the Government's commitment to leaving no one and no place behind.

However, the planned development comes against the background of a longstanding dispute over land rights at Springs Farm and Stuhm Farm.

Springs Farm measures approximately 671 hectares, while Stuhm Farm covers about 412 hectares. The properties have been linked to compensation arrangements involving businessman Billy Rautenbach over a dispute concerning approximately 180 hectares of land in Aspindale, Harare.

The scale and legal basis of the compensation arrangements have raised questions, particularly given the difference between the size of the original Aspindale property and the combined area of the two farms.

Concerns have also been raised over reports that title deeds were issued for disputed properties while related litigation was pending. The circumstances surrounding the allocations and title deeds would need to be established through land records, compensation agreements and court documents.

The Aspindale dispute was contested in court and reportedly settled through the High Court in 2019, with a ruling that the land did not belong to Rautenbach.

The property had originally belonged to Rothmans International, which donated it to Government before it was allocated to housing cooperatives. The cooperatives subsequently faced a dispute after Rautenbach's company laid claim to the land.

The proposed Springs Farm development therefore combines plans for major investments in healthcare and education with outstanding questions about the history, ownership and allocation of the land on which the projects are intended to be built.