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Midlands Correspondent
Government has identified land to relocate flood victims in the Midlands province whose homesteads and fields were destroyed by Cyclone Dineo induced floods early this year.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Jason Machaya said in an interview yesterday that there were more than 300 families under Chief Sayi in Gokwe South whose homesteads and fields were destroyed by the heavy rains. Minister Machaya said Government identified Chirisa area, which has 30 000 hectares for the resettlement of the flood victims.
He said the relocation was going to be voluntary.
Minister Machaya said there were more than 500 families who were affected by the cyclone.
“We have 30 000ha of land in Chirisa area under Chief Mutendi in Gokwe,” he said. “We are going to relocate some of the flood victims in the province to Chirisa area to settle on 25 000ha that have been set aside for that.
“We are going to create new villages, not resettlement areas as has been the case with the land reform programme. Most of the affected areas are from Chief Sayi in Gokwe South.”
Minister Machaya said there were 40 families in Mberengwa whose homesteads were completely destroyed by the cyclone.
“In the Buchwa area in Mberengwa, we have 40 homesteads that were destroyed by the rains and the people are homeless as we speak,” he said.
“They are living in makeshift houses, but we are looking for well-wishers to chip in and complement Government in assisting these people to set up permanent structures.
“We have had help from Mimosa and Unki mines and other companies that donated cement and other materials to repair the bridges so that these areas become accessible.”
Minister Machaya said the province had set aside 2 000 tonnes of maize to help the affected families.
Online Reporter