Green Fuel in fresh storm

Tendai Mugabe Harare Bureau
GREEN Fuel, which resumed operations last week after water was cut over a debt, is embroiled in a fresh storm with villagers in Chisumbanje accusing it of refusing to compensate them for their land taken to pave way for the ethanol project. Only last week, the company was embroiled in a nasty wrangle with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority over a debt in excess of $7 million, which resulted in water supplies being cut.

The ethanol producing company is a joint venture between government and Macdom Investments. Villagers who spoke to our Harare Bureau on Tuesday said the project was now “a curse” in their community as it had brought more harm than benefits.

In separate interviews, the villagers accused Green Fuel of failing to meet its social obligations under the guise of it being a national project.
One of the villagers Robenson Nyakurwa said Green Fuel had not done anything positive to the community.

“We are not against the project, but we are concerned with the way how this company is operating here,” he said.
“In my case, Green Fuel took 20 hectares of land six years ago. My family is now suffering because I no longer have farmland. It (Green Fuel) was asked by a Cabinet Taskforce led by the then Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara to compensate us, but nothing materialised.”

Another villager Pikirayi Hlengana said he lost more than 15 hectares to Green Fuel without compensation.
He said the company officials were using a hostile approach when engaged by the villagers.
“I no longer have anywhere to grow crops and it is a big challenge for me to fend for my family,” said Hlengana.

“I was then employed by Green Fuel, but I was suspended under unclear circumstances without any terminal benefit. When I tried to engage the company together with some of my colleagues who were also suspended from work, we were accused of trying to set the plant on fire.”

Another villager Nixon Mufusirwa said his fields were also taken away by Green Fuel.
“When this project started they said they were going to use Arda land only, but later they encroached into our fields,” he said.

“What is more painful is that most of the land they took from us is not being utilised, yet we are struggling.”
Although Green Fuel spokesperson Lillian Muungani requested in writing from our Harare Bureau, she said the company compensated everyone deserving restitution.
“The issue of compensation was dealt with exhaustively for everyone whom compensation was due,” she said.

Muungani said her company worked with the District Administrator’s office to identify people deserving compensation.
Green Fuel is riddled with several challenges and last week it was forced to temporarily shut down after it was disconnected from water supplies by Zinwa over its ballooning debt.

Muungani said they were still negotiating with Zinwa, although water had since been restored.
In February, government was forced to stop implementation of E15 fuel blending levels after Green Fuel failed to supply ethanol, claiming that it was failing to harvest sugar cane due to incessant rains.