Fresh Farm Disputes Erupt In Midlands
GWERU — Land ownership disputes have taken centre stage in the Midlands among resettled farmers, fanning fears that planting will be delayed at affected farms.
The disputes involve three properties namely Chemagora Farm in Gokwe, Wildbeest Farm on the outskirts of Gweru and in Ward 17 of Shurugwi where different groups are claiming the right to the same land.At Wildbeest Farm, 250 families invaded the property in 2011 and they are still on the farm.
A row has now erupted between the families and the owner, Derrick Shaw and some A2 farmers who were allocated the same land when it was sub-divided.
The families have vowed to stay on the farm until government finds somewhere to resettle them.
In Shurugwi, A1 farmers in the area accuse A2 farmers who are adjacent to their farms of encroaching into their pieces of land.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Jason Machaya, said the issue of families at Wildbeest Farm was being handled by ZANU-PF while the boundary issues in Shurugwi are being handled by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement to ascertain the correct boundaries.
“The issue of land disputes is not new in the province and always comes up during the planting season but we have the situation under control. The party is looking at how best to deal with families at Wildbeest Farm and we are hopeful that a solution would be found soon,” he said.
The same cannot be said for Chemagora Farm where 75 evicted families were granted a stay of execution to return to the farm until the matter is finalised at the High Court by Gokwe magistrate, Collen Chiruma.
The families claim they were resettled at the farm by Chief Njelele while government contends that the farm was meant for A2 farmers who have been at loggerheads with the families.
The A2 farmers have vowed to slash the families’ crops if they go ahead and plant on the land.
However, Machaya called for co-existence among the farmers and resettled families adding that government has since identified another farm in the province where some of the families will be moved to.