From Tawanda Mangoma in CHIREDZI
Chiredzi West Member of Parliament Cde Darlington Chiwa has condemned the continued unsystematic land allocations happening in Chiredzi, saying the move might see over 2 000 families being displaced from their land by people coming from elsewhere with offer letters.
The development comes as villagers from Mtirikwikwi, Monyoroka and Pension Area of Triangle are set to be evicted after 15 people reportedly received offer letters from the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement to occupy an estimated area of 12 000 hectares, which houses undocumented beneficiaries of the 2000 land reform programme.
Cde Chiwa said the rush to own sugarcane plantations in his constituency created pressure on the land, with some targeting undeveloped land earmarked for the development of sugarcane plantations to be irrigated by Tokwe Mukosi Dam soon.
“It is Government policy that anyone who benefited a sugarcane farm or any land earmarked for the development of sugarcane plantations in future must not get more than 60ha.” he said.
“But people are just amassing sugarcane farms. This is the corruption which must be addressed quickly so that all people who want sugarcane plantations will get a fair share. Take a tour, they are not even productive, they just keep pushing even for the takeover of Tongaat Huletts plantations so that they just harvest one season and make that very piece of land unproductive”
Cde Chiwa said it was unfortunate that some people were pushing to distabilise Tongaat Huletts, whose activities were benefiting more than 18 000 people.
“Most out-grower farmers have gone for more than 12 months without paying employees, what then will happen if all the 18 000 employees of Tongaat fall into the hands of such people?” he said. “We don’t want a disaster for Chiredzi.”
A village head from Monyoroka, Mr Justin Mapfumo, said Government should protect them and stop advancing interests of a few people who were taking over land in the area.
“We want Government to be frank and issue us with certificates of occupation of this land,” he said. “We resettled in 2000 and up to now we are just there with no documentation.
“We see them coming to peg our land. We heard some have received 500ha each from our land, but we had shared that land, with each one getting 6ha so that all those in need benefit.”