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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THE sun baked soils of Chipinge South in the Lowveld are turning into a greenbelt as the Government and some development partners ensure that the Tongogara Refugee Camp expands irrigable land for maize and sugar bean production.
Apart from the 50 hectares currently under sugar bean, work on another 50ha is already afoot.
The farming initiatives have seen the camp’s agricultural produce being sold on markets from as far as Harare and Bulawayo. This is part of the broader refugee protection enhancement initiatives that the Government is a signatory to in various international accords.
As Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Refugee Day on June 20, Tongogara Refugee Camp administrator, Mr Johani Mhlanga has said it is important for the refugees to be self-reliant.
“We have established self-reliance opportunities in the camp. We have 50ha under irrigation and plans are afoot to have another 50ha as we expand the farming project. We want to accommodate more families by expanding the irrigation scheme.
“Right now the irrigation scheme has close to 380 beneficiaries. However, this is a drop in the ocean considering the population we have here,” said Mr Mhlanga.
The Government is working with several development partners to enhance refugee protection.
“Among other partners we are working with are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Vision, World Food Programme TDH, Childline and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches.
“Government aims to ensure that we provide comprehensive services to the refuge community,” said Mr Mhlanga.
He said the Government has gone beyond expectations in turning Tongogara Refugee Camp into a comprehensive service centre for asylum seekers.
“As a Government, we have done more than expected in enhancing the protection of refugees. We have created opportunities for the refugee community, going a step further to ensure that we promote self-reliance for the refugee community.
“On September 19, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants which spells out the need to address self-reliance and host community challenges through the Global Compact on Refugees.
“Throughout the world, there was an understanding that a refugee problem was a temporary problem, but through experiences gained over the years because of the Somali, Congo and South Sudanese conflicts, among others, the new understanding is that the humanitarian intervention alone is not enough.
“There is need for a humanitarian and developmental approach to the humanitarian problem,” he said.
The Global Compact on Refugees has four pillars that include enhancing self-reliance and creating opportunities for refugees, easing pressure on host communities, addressing the root causes of displacement, and putting in place measures to enhance durable solutions to refugee crisis.
Mr Mhlanga said the Government is guided by international protocols as well as national legislation in improving the status and protection of refugees.
“We have committed ourselves towards refugee protection by enacting the Refugees Act of 1983 which is very comprehensive in addressing fundamental issues affecting refugees.
“We also came up with Statutory Instrument 130 of 1985.
“These are then supported by the international protocols that we are signatory to, such as the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees as well as the 1969 OAU Convention governing aspects of the refugee problem in Africa,” said Mr Mhlanga.
Online Reporter