Villagers face eviction to make way for biofuel cultivation
By Tichaona Sibanda
30 March 2010
The construction of a US$600 million ethanol plant in Chisumbanje, Manicaland province has ignited a storm of protests and claims that it could result in thousands of families being evicted from the area.
The plant, which government says will provide the country with 80 percent of it’s ethanol needs, is being built on land currently owned by the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA). The ethanol will be
created from sugarcane grown in Arda Chisumbanje and Arda Middle Sabi. Clouds of uncertainty now hang over the welfare of over 250 000 villagers living along the vast Sabi river.
Government entered into the deal with controversial businessman Billy Rautenbach and his companies Macdom Pvt (Ltd) and Ratings Investment.
The 51 year-old Rautenbach is a multimillionaire Zimbabwe businessman well known for his aggressive business tactics. He is also closely linked to Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF. He was added to the EU targeted sanctions list in January 2008, and the US targeted sanctions towards the end of 2008 for his alleged involvement with the former ruling regime. It is alleged he has aided ZANU PF financially and the deals have been mutually beneficial. Mugabe, grateful for financial support, often returns favours to Rautenbach by granting him dubious and lucrative deals in mining and this latest ethanol project in Chisumbanje. As white farmers continue to be kicked off their farms, Rautenbach’s empire grows even bigger. Two weeks ago we
reported that Rautenbach was being accused by the MDC of hounding and intimidating its activists in Manicaland as political tension builds ahead of the constitution making programme.
MDC spokesman for Manicaland province, Pishai Muchauraya, told us the businessman was directly responsible for the tensions that have led to several skirmishes in the province.
Officially it has been stated the project in Chisumbanje will grow 40 000 hectares of sugarcane, but Rautenbach is allegedly pushing to acquire an additional 20 000 hectares, from settlers in constituencies held by the
MDC-T in Chipinge South, Chipinge West and Musikavanhu.
Arda Chisumbanje falls under Chipinge South constituency and will provide the 40 000 hectares. Arda Middle Sabi is under Chipinge West and sandwiched between the two constituencies is Musikavhanhu. This is where Rautenbach has plans to acquire an extra 12 000 hectares, all belonging to settlers. There are reports suggesting the remaining 8 000 hectares of land have already been identified in the Middle Sabi.
When fully operational the plant will become the second largest in the world and will generate enough electricity to power most parts of Manicaland. There are fears however the success of the plant will come at a serious cost for the MDC, who are set to see the obliteration of three of their constituencies.
All the prime land earmarked for the expansion is under constituencies that voted for the MDC in the 2008 parliamentary elections. Chipinge West and South and Musikavavhu have an average of 30 000 registered voters in each of the three constituencies. MDC-T MP for Chipinge West, Sibonile Nyamudeza, said almost everyone in the area was concerned that they would be forced off their farming land. They have received few details about the project and what will happen to those affected.
He said politically they were bracing themselves for the possibility that MDC supporters will all be evicted, leaving ZANU PF supporters to stay.
‘People are very concerned what will happen to their homes and livelihoods and the possibility that they will have to move,’ Nyamudeza said.
‘We want to ask the company to meet the community to discuss the issue. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangira was in the area a month ago and was informed of the impending crisis in the area. He promised however that no one will be moved from their homes,’ Nyamudeza added.
The MP said he wanted to stress that people were not against the project but were merely expressing their concerns about the secrecy surrounding it. He said as a party they were also concerned about the rights of people in those areas, given Zimbabwe’s recent history of forced, often violent land evictions.
So serious is the outcry about the issue that a Parliamentary portfolio committee on Agriculture is currently visiting the area to undertake investigations.
‘I am told the committee is carrying out investigations to see if the expansion of the project will force the displacement of villagers. We are waiting for the report that they will produce before we convene a meeting in
the area to decide what action can be taken if necessary,’ Nyamudeza said.