Villagers in Chilonga communal lands in Chiredzi district are at loggerheads with the government over a controversial irrigation project to cultivate cattle fodder, as they are apprehensive over forced relocations from their ancestral homes.
Recently a high-powered delegation led by the Minister of Lands and Agriculture Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka faced a torrid time addressing the defiant villagers of the Chilonga community at Mutomani Business Centre in Chiredzi Ward 6.
In a united show of defiance, villagers refused to sit in a tent which had been erected with thousands of chairs, preferring to sit on the floor, in the sun. The ministerial delegation also comprised of State Security Minister Lovemore Matuke, Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution (Masvingo) Ezra Chadzamira, and the provincial leadership of ZANU PF.
Consultations with community representatives stalled as local people are adamant that the government’s priorities are unclear as they demand assurances that they will not be relocated from their homes.
The community unanimously rejected the project, but Minister Chadzamira said the delegation aimed to dispel some misconceptions about the project which would provide sustainable utilization of land through irrigation.
“As government has convened this delegation in response to social media rumours, we are here to dispel some of the myths that have been peddled. Our aim is for rural development through the projects of our government,” said Chadzamira.
Minister Matuke made assurances that the government would not relocate the communal peasant farmers from there but was driving towards rural industrialization through the utilization of abundant water reserves at Tokwe Mukosi can irrigate 40,000 hectares of land.
He said under the ambitious Vision 2030 to turn Zimbabwe into an Upper Middle-Income country, the transformation of rural economies was a development that would be all-inclusive of local and traditional structures.
“There is not going to be any relocation, rural development is under government, but it is for the people, and no one is going to be relocated from their ancestral homes, take this word to heart and this is coming from the President.
“Tell all those who were lying to you that there is going to be relocation or are dreaming of that it is only going to be in your dreams, if you have such dreams wake up and burn your blankets,” he said.
A villager who made oral submissions at the heated consultative meeting said the people have flat-out refused to move from their land which has significant sentimental, cultural, and heritage value for them.
He also revealed that the government should first address the outstanding issue of a petition that was submitted to stop the project instead of sending delegations and investors with concluded plans.
“We have not sold out our land to any investor and we still feel short-changed as a people because our views are not being listened to. They came with maps and helicopters wanting to grab our land, but they have not responded to our petition that we previously tendered over the dispute we had with the investors” he said.
The ‘second republic’ administration is under fire for sporadic, inhumane decisions that affect livelihoods and people’s right to personal security as well as access to land. Government critics see the project as retrogressive favouring corporate interests while undermining food security as productive land they use for growing food will now be for lucerne production.
The land in question has been inhabited by the Hlengwe Xangani (Chilonga) Community since way before 1890, downstream of Tokwe Mukosi dam, and due to abundant water government has earmarked over 12,000 hectares for an irrigation project.
On top of the petition, there were previous litigation attempts in 2021 to stop the controversial Dendairy-backed project which was dismissed by a High Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire on the basis that occupation of communal land is at the pleasure of the State.
High Court judge Justice dismissed an application by villagers in which they were challenging their pending eviction.
The government in February 2021 planned to evict the villagers after it passed Statutory Instrument (SI) 50 of 2021 to set aside 12 940 hectares of communal land in their area for lucerne project by Dendairy.
Between February and March 2021, the Government issued a series of Statutory Instruments which it later repealed with the main object of setting aside a tract of Communal land measuring 12940 to establish an irrigation scheme in Chiredzi District.
Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) says the threat of evictions remains for Chilonga villagers despite the government repealing Statutory Instrument (SI) 50/2021 which had legalized their displacement.
At the height of the dispute when the government backtracked from evicting villagers CNRG called on the Parliament of Zimbabwe to repeal the Communal Lands Act and introduce a land law that gives Zimbabweans on communal lands security of tenure.
CNRG also calls on government to respect the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of local communities in line with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and Dendairy (Pvt) Ltd should publicly renounce its interest in acquiring Chilonga Communal Lands.
The said Statutory Instruments were made in terms of the Communal Land Act. Section 4 of the later vests all Communal land in the President. Section 6 of the same Act empowers the President to make additions or subtractions from any communal land.