adminThe affected families, who received between $1 000 and $1 500 per family depending on the size of the fields under the lease, are now stranded with the rainy season just around the corner.
The lease agreements are valid for three years.
When a Chronicle news crew visited the area on Wednesday, the Chinese who have just started their mining operations in the area were busy with their earth-moving machinery with several tonnes of chrome ore having already been extracted from the villagers’ fields.
The villagers from the drought-prone area said they were pushed to enter into the deal with the Chinese owing to serious food shortages in the district.
The villagers said they were tempted by the cash the Chinese dangled.
“We are facing serious food shortages in our district and we could not resist the temptation of receiving cash when the Chinese approached us about a month ago. Some of us were facing starvation and were lured to enter into an agreement to allow them to mine chrome in our fields for the next three years upon payment of a once off fee,” said a widow, Ms Sinodia Mandava (53).
Ms Mandava said she received $1 000 under the deal to lease her three hectare piece of land where she has been farming for years.
She said she has since used the money to buy food and pay fees for two orphaned children she looks after. “I have exhausted all the money on food and in paying fees for the orphans I am taking care of. When I was given the money, I thought it was a lot, but now I don’t even have a cent of it and I don’t know how I will survive for the next three years,” she said.
Another villager, Mr Zamani Sibanda (56) who said he “sold” his piece of land for $1 800, said he only realised the mistake when rains started falling in the area.
“What we did was a big mistake and we have to blame ourselves. When these Chinese approached us about a month ago, we were stranded and they splashed cash. When we entered into negotiations they refused to give us reasonable amounts of money that could sustain us for the next three years. We could, however, not let go the cash they had offered considering the food situation,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said they have since approached the local Member of Parliament, Cde Jabulani Mangena, to try and address the matter.
The headman, Mr Garikai Chikava, said he once tried to stop his subjects from leasing their fields to the Chinese, but to no avail. “The problem is that the Chinese came to the area and approached the villagers separately without seeking audience from the local leadership.
“When I later got information about the development, I called for a meeting with the villagers and tried to address them while condemning the move, but the majority of them had already received money from these Chinese,” he said.
Headman Chikava said the leasing of fields by his subjects was a curse, which would haunt his subjects for years.
He said the move has also condemned the villagers to poverty.
“It’s not proper in our culture to sell land because this land is a treasure which should be passed from generation to generation. This anomaly means we no longer have a source of living in Neta and we have been condemned to poverty for the whole of our lives,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Cde Mangena said he would call for an emergency meeting with the villagers and the Chinese to try and reverse the deal. “I have communicated with the local leadership at Mberengwa Rural District Council. I have called for a meeting so that we address the issue which is totally against our culture. The move is also against the land reform programme and what the villagers did is uncalled for. I will meet the two parties and try to address the anomaly,” he said.
Online Reporter