A land audit in Zimbabwe to break-up extensive farm ownership by president Robert Mugabe’s allies has failed to take off due to lack of funding to conduct the process.

About $30 million is required for the land audit aimed at correcting the chaotic 2000 land grab sanctioned by Mr Mugabe that saw his close allies emerge as owners of vast tracts of farmland.

A land audit was one of the major targets of Zimbabwe’s inclusive government set during an August 2009 ministerial retreat held at the resort town of Victoria Falls.

It is also one of the terms of a September 2008 power sharing agreement that resulted in the formation of a unity government between President Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) parties.

Herbert Murerwa, the country’s lands minister, said the commencement of the much awaited land audit that was supposed to take off in September has been held back by lack of funding from the Treasury.

"Lack of funding is militating against the land audit. The ministry has not received the funds, about $31million, to conduct the land audit that is expected to take six to nine months," Mr Murerwa said in an interview with inthenews.co.uk.

Mr Murerwa said the country’s finance ministry was not forthcoming on the allocation of the $31 million despite his department having submitted a budget application for the process in August.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who has on numerous occasions said the government is broke, could not be reached for comment. The failure of a land audit to take off comes less than two days after the country’s constitutional making process was suspended due to budgetary constraints.

Mr Murerwa added: "A land audit preparatory team has been set up to conduct the process once the funds required are received.

"The audit result would ensure accountability and eliminate farm ownership and double allocations and will provide a consolidated data base of land information for use by the government and the formulation policies."

Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector has recoded a slide in production output for near a decade following a controversial land grab of 2000, resulting in food shortages since then.

Mugabe has defended the land grab as necessary to correct colonial imbalances, arguing that white commercial farmers had taken over all prime farming land and relegated landless blacks to unproductive lands.

But the 2000 land reform only saw Mugabe’s allies in his Zanu-PF party and the security establishment benefit as seen by the numerous farms they own.

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