In Chisumbanje, situated on the eastern corner of Zimbabwe near the border with Mozambique, Simeon Forichi is having sleepless nights over the loss of about 10 hectares of land on which he has been growing cotton and other crops According to Forichi, a villager in Mukukuzi, ward 30, hundreds of villagers are facing the loss of a total of 4,128 hectares of land to Greenfuel, a company owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ally, Billy Rautenbach, which is expanding its biofuel project into the disputed land Rautenbach also wants the land for a cattle ranching project, with reports that a herd of 1000 cattle is already in Chisumbanje and 3000 more expected after the villagers have been removed Forichi and other farmers —numbering over 3000 — are set to get half a hectare each as compensation for the loss of the land
“When Greenfuel came, they told us the land on which we have been farming belonged to the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda), but we believe this is not true,” Forichi said “We are aware that Arda has already given out all its land to Greenfuel and what they are now claiming to own is communal land, which we are entitled to “Despite that, we are concerned that the half a hectare that we are being offered is not sufficient.”
Arda is a government vehicle set up to run farming projects countrywide and has leased part of its land to private entities like Greenfuel Forichi said Greenfuel never communicated to them on their intention to take away their land
The villagers only went to enquire from them after they saw the Greefuel equipment preparing the land “I was tasked by the villagers to enquire from Greenfuel what was happening since I represent the MP (Clifford Hlatshwayo),” Forichi said “I went there and this was when the Green Fuel spokesperson Lillian Muungani told me of their intention “She gave me this map showing the land they are taking from us
“She even came here to show us.”
Muungani was not reachable for comment The visit to Chisumbanje was sponsored by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum to appreciate the level of human rights abuses in the area
Source: The Standard Zimbabwe
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