Grace Mugabe — Philanthropist or self-aggrandiser?
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
February 8, 2013 in News
AWAY from the usual hustle and bustle of politics, the Harare International
Conference Centre last Friday hosted an evangelical fellowship conference of
Christian women from all parts of the country to deal with issues affecting
women.
Report by Herbert Moyo
One preacher exhorted women parishioners to follow the example of virtuous
womenfolk like the beautiful Queen Esther whose humility and moral integrity
were so vital in saving the Jewish race from extinction at the hands of
cruel Haman.
The Bible and world history are replete with examples of powerful women who
used their influence for either good or evil designs, leaving an indelible
mark on human history.
Queen Esther used her influence for the positive when she exposed an evil
plot of genocide by Haman to her husband King Xerxes, risking her own life.
There are, however, many other powerful not-so-virtuous women like 19th
Century French Queen Marie Antoinette who, when informed that ordinary
citizens were starving due to bread shortages, infamously quipped that they
should eat cake instead.
Queen Jezebel connived with her husband King Ahab to not only dispossess
Naboth of his one and only vineyard, but to kill him as well. The
Ahab/Jezebel story of dispossession is one of pure greed as the royal pair
owned so much land and could have acquired more elsewhere, but cast their
envious eye on Naboth’s only vineyard.
They say history repeats itself and this seems to be the case in Zimbabwe
following recent revelations the First Lady Grace Mugabe had grabbed 1 600
hectares of agro-producer Interfresh’s Mazowe Citrus Estate in Mashonaland
Central.
The question is: Is Grace Mugabe a force of good or evil? No doubt those who
know her say she a good-hearted person who has a strong compassion for
helping the under-privileged in society and always tries to use her position
and influence to change communities for the better.
Her supporters say she is full of love for humankind in general and thus
makes charitable donations intended to increase human well-being,
particularly the welfare of the poor.
There has been a series of interviews in the state media covering acres of
space detailing how good a person she is and the community projects she has
been doing to help the needy.
Even her critics would agree that her humanitarian projects are welcome and
need to be encouraged so that the poor benefit from her generosity, care and
charity. However, her approach and the manner in which some of her projects
are conceived and executed have left a sour taste in the mouths of some,
mainly those affected by her activities.
The case of Interfresh is one such an example. Interfresh says the First
Lady has taken a portion of its estate, which represents 46% of Mazowe
Citrus Estate’s total arable land, 30% of its budgeted revenue for the 2013
financial year and 52% of the value of immovable and biological assets.
As if that was not enough, Mashonaland Central governor Martin Dinha
promised more land for the First Family, which is already accused of owning
more than 10 farms directly or indirectly.
“We offered you land and we will continue to offer you land for other
projects if you want it,” Dinha said at the official opening of the Amai
Mugabe Junior School in Mazowe last week.
“We will do it in broad daylight and we are not ashamed of it. Detractors
can say what they want, they can write what they want, but this is our land
in Mashonaland Central and we will do what we want with it.”
The latest land grab by Grace follows hard on the heels of recent other
seizures which have affected high-profile and ordinary rural dwellers,
prompting analysts to question the graciousness of her methods and projects.
Bulawayo-based political analyst Godwin Phiri said it is unfortunate that
Grace — who has in recent years drawn parallels with Marie Antoinette due to
her shopping sprees and flamboyant lifestyle — had embarked on a path of
dispossession and self-aggrandisement, deviating from the
mother-of-the-nation concept popularised by President Robert Mugabe’s late
first wife, Sally, in the 1980s.
“Sally was viewed as caring and motherly, especially through her work in the
Child Survival Foundation; and even if Grace has built an orphanage, this
has done little for her reputation which has been tainted by reports of
self-aggrandisement and dispossessing Zimbabweans of their land and
property,” Phiri said.
While Grace says she is pursuing a noble humanitarian cause, her approach of
expropriating land from locals — which implies abuse of power and disdain
for the rule of law — is undermining her charity activities.
After initially taking a farm from an old white couple in the area at the
height of land invasions, High Court judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo accused
her company, Gushungo Holdings, of grabbing his Gwina farm in Banket in
2009.
His court papers said he had been operating his farm in “quiet, undisturbed,
peaceful possession, occupation and production” since it was allocated to
him in 2002 during the controversial fast-track land reform programme until
the First Lady arrived on the scene.
Grace followed up on that by seizing Manzou Farm in 2011, this time from
ordinary rural people who had grabbed the former game park in 2001 with the
backing of Zanu PF.
When the Zimbabwe Independent visited Manzou Farm last year, the paper was
welcomed by scores of peasant farmers who spoke of a bleak and uncertain
future following the appropriation of the former game park they invaded in
2001 at the height of Zanu PF’s violent land grabs.
One elderly man, who said he was originally from Gokwe, spoke of how he had
invested heavily in seed, fertiliser and other inputs while pointing to a
thriving maize crop which he was never given time to harvest after being
kicked out into the open together with his children and personal belongings.
At the time Dinha, who was again assisting Grace’s land grab activities,
denied that she was taking over the farm saying she was quite content with
the area allocated to her for the orphanage project.
“The First Lady is not interested in taking over Manzou. In fact, it is the
Mashonaland Central (Zanu PF) executive which identified Manzou as a
priority project and we will be resuscitating the game park in partnership
with Chinese investors,” said Dinha then, adding, “illegal squatters had
caused environmental degradation to the nearby Mazowe Dam through their
farming and illegal gold mining activities.”
What Dinha chose not to mention is that these “illegal settlers” were in
fact ordinary people who had participated in Zanu PF’s land seizures? The
fact families came from different parts of the country including Gutu,
Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe and Gokwe suggested their settlement could have been
a well-orchestrated party programme only to be ditched when Grace decided
she needed the property.
The First Family also owns Gushungo Dairy Estate in Mazowe (formally Foyle
Farm) in contravention of government’s one-man one-farm policy which Mugabe
espoused during the land reform programme.
Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo said the latest land
grabs were a continuation of the Zanu PF culture of self-aggrandisement and
greed which cannot even be disguised as indigenisation and empowerment.
“Those who already have are getting more at the expense of the poor,
deserving people and the economy,” said Nkomo, adding that “Dinha may
actually be in a difficult position where he cannot resist Grace’s
insatiable demands even if he feels they are morally reprehensible”.
Phiri said Grace’s expropriation spree is probably in preparation for
post-Mugabe life “especially if you look at the area (Mashonaland Central)
she is targeting with its potential for immense economic benefits”.
While the First Lady sets about further safeguarding her interests, there is
no doubt that the land grabs have caused serious damage as well as suffering
for some Zimbabweans.
Given all this, analysts say Grace’s charity activities — which are now
being questioned due to her brazen and selfish approach — risk being seen as
self-aggrandisement under the cloak of philanthropy if she continues
grabbing other people’s properties while leaving them stranded and
impoverished.