Impact of Growth Point Expansion on Communal Rural Land in Zimbabwe: The Guruve Case

This study critically investigated the contestations in acquisition of communal land for urban expansion with a view to promoting proper growth of urban centres in Zimbabwe using the case of Guruve Growth Point. The study is aimed at establishing, inter alia; the causes of the contestations between rural local authorities and communal land holders, the effects of the contestations, the legal provisions governing the administration and acquisition of rural land and the planning strategies that can be applied to address the contestations. This study is driven by seemingly scant evidence and research work on the causes and impact of contestations in acquisition of rural land for expansion of urban settlements against a backdrop of the problem being rampant in Zimbabwe and therefore fills an important intellectual lacuna in the existing canon. The study was informed by the pragmatic philosophy to research and inquiry and adopted the mixed methods approach. The study utilised the case study research design and employed both probability and non-probability sampling to select the participants in the research. Data collection was done through questionnaire surveys on rural households, focus group discussions, key informant interviews documentary review and observation technique.