The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT will not tolerate traditional and political leaders who illegally occupy or allocate pieces of land, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Almost all the seven districts of Manicaland are seized with a number of land ownership disputes emanating from illegal allocations and occupations.
This has been rampant in peri-urban areas where State land is being sold for a song.
Speaking during a field day at Taguta Farm in Chipinge last Friday, Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka said: “We know that each family has its own problem child. We have such people in our family as a political party and in our communities.
“However, we will not stand aside and look as people allocate themselves land willy-nilly. We will not tolerate such tomfoolery. At times, you have your headman allocating land to someone after receiving a few dollars as kickbacks.
“Allow me to warn all those who want to commit such crimes, we will not hesitate to arrest you. We are empowered to do so, and we will arrest such criminals without fear or favour.
“In most cases, the headman parcels out land that is meant for grazing or even wetlands. No, we will not have this anymore. We will arrest any perpetrators of such unbecoming behaviour. If you are a headman or a political leader within the ruling Zanu PF party, you should lead by example.”
Minister Masuka also said Government is intensifying its mechanisation drive with the acquisition of new farming equipment that include tractors and combined harvesters which will be accessible to the farming community.
“We have several partners under the Mechanisation Development Alliance Programme and we hope to boost the standards of our farming practices. We currently have 1 300 tractors awaiting collection by farmers. We are expecting to take delivery of an additional 3 000 tractors by June.
“We are doing this mindful of the farming season because if one does not pay attention to timing, then they lose out. We have banks such as AFC and CBZ that will assist farmers with loans to acquire the tractors.
“One just pays 15 percent and the balance will be paid over three years. We also have a programme for combine harvesters. We will receive 80 combine harvesters that will arrive in the country in April. They will go under the AFC Leasing Programme.
“We know that not all farmers can afford to buy tractors, but through the AFC Leasing Programme, these farming implements will serve a wider community of our farmers until they are empowered to secure their own,” he said.
Minister Masuka also reassured the nation that no one will starve as enough grain is in stock.
He said Government has crafted a household self-reliance model that will see beneficiaries of food assistance being required to have at least three plots under Pfumvudza/Intwasa as a prerequisite for one to be eligible to get assistance.
“Our President, His Excellency, Dr Mnangagwa has already declared that no one will starve and that is for sure. No one will starve in this country. We have enough grain in stock.
“As Government, we are climate proofing agriculture at household levels. Over the past four years, we have seen that households that have done all the tenets of Pfumvudza/Intwasa have become self-sufficient in terms of food security and they have also been able to take the surplus to GMB.
“The Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Dr July Moyo and myself have requested and got the blessings of President Mnangagwa that we vary the Department of Social Welfare’s pre-qualification by households that need food assistance.
“So commencing this year, any household that requires food assistance must do the mandatory three Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots first before they can access Social Welfare assistance,” said Minister Masuka.
He said apart from the Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots requirement, beneficiaries of the Social Welfare food assistance programme will now be required to join a conservation farming class.
“They must also enrol for a Pfumvudza/Intwasa Master Class with their local agricultural extension officer. While Government is providing them with the immediate food assistance that they want, Government is also climate proofing them for sustainability and resilience so that they do not need food aid forever,” he said.
Turning to the high levels of production at Taguta Farm, Minister Masuka said: “We are here at Taguta Farm where we are seeing the success story of the Second Republic’s investment in climate proofing agriculture. What we have seen is clearly an eight, nine tonner crop facilitated by the availability of irrigation on this 50-hectare centre pivot. We want to do more. We want them to get an additional centre pivot and assist them to attend to the weir so that they are able to irrigate the entire 150-hectare farm,” said Minister Masuka.
Taguta Farm is owned by Johane Marange Apostolic Church leader, St Nimrod Taguta.
