Masvingo Mayor blames land reform
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
October 19, 2012 in News
MASVINGO mayor Femias Chakabuda has blamed the demise of the country’s
oldest town on the chaotic fast track land reform programme which destroyed
a once thriving cattle ranching industry that was the backbone of the city’s
economy.
Report by Staff Writer
Masvingo was home to the largest Cold Storage Company’s abattoir,
slaughtering around 450 cattle daily. The abattoir, which was shut down,
supported the town’s transport and engineering companies as its downstream
industries, but these have since closed leaving over 3 000 workers jobless.
Chakabuda told the on-going parliamentary finance, budget and investment
committee’s 2013 national budget consultations in Masvingo on Wednesday that
the resettlement programme’s “excitement” overshadowed the future of the
city.
“The land reform programme killed Masvingo industry when peasants were
resettled in the once thriving cattle ranches that supported the
city’s industries like CSC and transport companies like AJ Capple, Railway
Motor Services and Mkondo Transport,” said Chakabuda.
Chakabuda said it was foolhardy to try and commercially farm in areas such
as Zaka and Bikita because the weather was hostile.
He said government could still remedy the situation by assisting resettled
farmers venture into the lucrative cattle ranching sector thus helping
revive the town’s fortunes