THE High Court has ordered the Local Government ministry to give back an offer letter it had withdrawn from a land developer.
N-Frays Infrastructure had cited the ministry and the Attorney-General as respondents in its application challenging the withdrawal of its offer letter.
According to court papers, N-Frays applied for a 100 hectare piece of land in Chishawasha B, Goromonzi Farm, sometime in 2016 for residential purposes.
The ministry gave the land developer an offer letter in May 2016.
The minister indicated that a memorandum of understanding would be concluded between the parties, setting out further implementation details including timelines.
N-Frays submitted that it was charged an amount of US$2 000 000 or equivalent in local currency for the intrinsic value of the land.
According to N-Frays, the then minister, however, reneged on his undertaking to instruct the Department of Physical Planning to carve out the 100 hectares from Chishawasha B Farm.
On May 11, 2023, N-Frays’ legal practitioners wrote a letter of demand to the minister threatening legal action.
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The minister responded a month later on June 14, 2023, withdrawing the 2016 offer.
Aggrieved by the decision, N-Frays approached the High Court saying the withdrawal of the offer letter was “unlawful, unwarranted, irrational, mischievous and arbitrary”.
High Court judge Justice Joseph Chilimbe ruled that the minister’s decision fell short of the standards prescribed in the Act.
“On the face of it, the reason tendered does not make sense. Without elaboration, his decision manifests as irrational. He did not offer the applicant an opportunity to make representations,” Justice Chilimbe said.
“The minister’s decision could have been based on valid grounds of conduct, but for the failure to engage or elaborate the basis of the decision.
“The minister could have fully explained the reason behind his decision in response to this application. But no opposition was filed herein, thus depriving the court of an opportunity to better interrogate the complaint before it.”
The judge added: “It is, therefore, just and proper that the minister’s decision to withdraw N-Frays’s offer of a hundred hectares of land on Chishawasha B Farm be set aside.
“This position will pave way for both parties to proceed according to their respective rights.”
