HWANGE villagers have reacted angrily at Government`s decision to evict them from their communal area to make way for the establishment of Batoka Township.
The announcement was made
through Statutory Instrument 188 of 2020 which was gazetted on Monday.
The development is
reportedly going to affect over 100 homesteads in Jembwe, Jabula, Kasikili and
Kanywambizi communal lands.
People occupying land in
the area intended for the development have been ordered to vacate by the end of
this year.
“The Minister of Local
Government and Public Works, in terms of section 10 of the Communal Land Act
[chapter 20:04], hereby makes the following notice: This notice may be cited as
the
Villagers who spoke to
CITE said they were shocked to learn of the development and there was no
mention of compensation.
They accused authorities
of making decisions without consulting them arguing that the development though
it was economically beneficial would be prejudicial to their livelihoods
“We are still in shock
over what we are hearing that they intend to evict us from our ancestral land
our crime being that we are in the way of the so-called development. How can
one wake up and decide to remove people without considering the impact on their
livelihoods. We hear they won’t be compensation for those that are going to be
affected. The government should ensure that it puts in place measures that
protect its people as compared to placing money ahead, ” said David Ncube from
Jebwe.
Kachechete ward Councilor,
Givemoreagain Moyo under which Jebwe village falls said he was yet to go
through the SI.
“It’s news to me I haven’t
gone through the document but from the reactions of the affected people they
are shocked at the notice. With the advent of social media, word travels fast
and the reactions so far show people are devastated by the news. Communities
need to be informed, they need to be consulted surely you can’t wake up and
evict people. Council has a role to inform stakeholders. At the moment I don’t
know who or how many are going to be affected by the displacement,” said Clr
Moyo.
Cllr Sino Moyo of Jambezi
ward whose area is also affected by the move said it was not yet clear where
the Kanywambizi villagers would be relocated to as only one meeting with the
community was held.
“It’s not yet clear as to
where the affected will be moved to since there was only one meeting in fact
people have not been addressed and unaware of the modalities associated with
relocation and compensation. Last year people were told of the development of
the project but not much was said about the impending displacement or
compensation. Villagers are not happy with the development some developed
infrastructure and being told to just leave is unfair. Most of these people are
old and cannot afford to build afresh especially given the state of our
economy, ” he said.
Centre for Natural
Resources Governance (CNRG) criticised the move describing it as a violation of
the rights of Batoka territory people.
“We believe that
indigenous people have rights over their ancestral lands and it is a violation
of their rights to allow the interests of capitalists to displace them. These
people have preserved this land since time immemorial and they should benefit
from development projects which have been attracted by their ancestral land,”
CNRG Communications Officer, Simiso Mlevu.
“As CNRG we are against
Forced Relocations and displacements. History has shown that our government
does not value property rights because people who were moved from Marange to
Arda Transau have not been compensated to date. They do not even have land for
subsistence farming. We fear that the people of Hwange will face the same
predicament of being forced to move without proper property and
livelihoods valuations that should lead to adequate compensation.”
She argued that the
Communal Lands Act was unconstitutional as it rendered rural communities
stateless.
“The Communal Lands Act is
grossly unconstitutional. Communal land is vested in the President and Local
Government minister can from time to time designate new use for that land.
Because of the Communal Lands Act, rural communities are stateless citizens. They
have no rights to where they live. We ask, how different is this administration
from colonial authorities when it comes to protecting the right of citizens?”
Efforts to get a comment
from Chief Shana were fruitless, however, Hwange Rural District Council chief
executive officer, Phindile Ncube said there was nothing amiss with the
development.
“In any event, there is
nothing new in the creation of urban land in a Communal area the issue of
compensation is neither here nor there. I can assure you that the affected
communities have been consulted. Yes the SI does not speak of compensation but
the Environmental Impact Assessment will likely speak into the issue of
compensation. Projects of national development tend to have certain impacts
such as displacement. We see this with what happened during the establishment
of the Tokwe-Mukosi dam we are also going to have a hydro dam here at the
The local authority
intends to establish satellite towns in Ndlovu, Cross Mabale, 5 Miles, Monde,
Cross Dete and the Batoka township.
The establishment of the
Batoka township will be anchored on the construction and operation of a dam to
power a 2400 MW hydropower plant that will be shared between
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