Online Reporter
The Herald
4 July 1981
PEOPLE in the Chipinga district are being forced to leave commercial farms which the white owners allowed them to occupy after independence, Chief E. T. Msikavanhu said in the Senate yesterday during the resumed debate on the President’s Speech.
The chief said that 3 085 people in his district were allowed to settle on vacant commercial farms by the owners who abandoned the land three years ago, but were served notices referring to them as “trespassers” and demanding that they leave by Monday next week, said Chief Msikavanhu.
He urged that quick action be taken or many would suffer as the ploughing season was fast approaching.
Senator Bob Blunt said rural development and communications should be priorities of the Government and social services, and health and education would follow naturally.
He did not believe commercial farming could survive, but co-operative farming if co-operatives were fairly large. “With the development of the rural agricultural sector must come communications and transport. We do not wish to see in this country food and crops rotting on the ground because there is no transport to move them.”
“In addition, I foresee a fuel problem and I wonder whether we shall not again experience fuel rationing,” he said. Zimcord, where it provided the means to develop and open up the rural areas had been a success, but where it provided aid in the form of material goods manufactured overseas, which had created jobs overseas while industry here had been idle because of lack of orders, it had not been a success.
Industry had to be established in the areas from which it would draw its natural resources even if this meant creating new towns, as in the case of Redcliff. “The decentralisation of industries in this country largely plans itself.”
Lessons for today:
The issue of land ownership and the rights of those who occupy it is critical. The forced removal of people from land they were allowed to occupy highlights the need for clear and fair land policies to prevent such conflicts and ensure stability.
Quick action is necessary to address the displacement of people, especially when it affects their livelihood, such as farming. Delays can lead to significant hardship, particularly when the agricultural season is approaching.
The debate between commercial and cooperative farming suggests that sustainable and community-based farming practices may be more viable in certain contexts. Cooperative farming can provide a more equitable and sustainable model for agricultural development.
The story emphasizes the importance of fair land policies, timely action to prevent displacement, rural development, sustainable farming, infrastructure, resource management, local industry development, and decentralisation for a nation’s progress.
