STAFF WRITER
MINES minister Winstone Chitando and Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister Richard Moyo will this Thursday visit Dinde community in Hwange as they seek to put to rest the land impasse between the villagers and a Chinese mining company, Beifer Investment.
The impasse which has been going on since 2019, has seen various stakeholders chipping in but to no avail. With villagers having resisted the eviction move by the Chinese company which claim to have been given special grants, government has finally seen it wise to intervene.
This also comes at a time government is battling to handle the case involving the Chilonga community in Chiredzi and an investor who intends to do lucerne grass production.
Provincial Affairs minister Moyo confirmed the visit.
“We are going there to hear out their concerns. If they don’t want that project to take off then that is it, but then at the same time investment goes to other areas people must not cry of lack of development in the region,” Moyo said.
THE Centre For Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) which has consistently been trying to represent the villagers has called on government to respect land rights of its citizens.
“The Dinde community, just like the Chilonga community in Chiredzi, has been unequivocally clear that they do not want Beifer Investments in their midst. They have now written a petition to be submitted to Parliament anytime soon. And yet, whilst the community is clear, government is not taking a NO for an answer.
“They are determined to grab the Dinde communal lands by any means necessary. Several meetings have been held with this community dating back to 2019 and the position of the community is clear. They do not want a mining project there,” wrote CNRG in its latest call for the issue to be resolved.
As if that is not enough, communities within a 15 kilometres stretch from Cross Dete to Kapami area last month found pegs inscribed Malonga Wells/A Mupandawana in their fields. The pegged area covers Ndangababi, Makwandala and Silewu wards. This happened without the knowledge of the locals.
Aaron Mupandawana who is believed to be behind the pegging is the president of the Zimbabwe Youth Development Trust and has interests in mining.
The continued fight over land in the area comes a few months after the government was forced to reverse a decision to let Chinese firms explore for coal at the Hwange national park following protests from environmentalists.
