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Bulawayo Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Defence Forces are engaged in de-mining in Matabeleland North and Masvingo provinces in line with the country’s National Mine Action Strategy that seeks to get rid of all landmines by 2025.
In Matabeleland North, the army’s de-mining operations are focused on the Lisulu area on the outskirts of Lupane, while in Masvingo the exercise is centred on Dumisa in Chiredzi.
The anti-personnel landmines were planted by the brutal Rhodesian forces to deter liberation fighters entering the country from neighbouring Mozambique and Zambia.
They planted an estimated three million anti-personnel mines between 1974 and 1979 in five major minefields across 850km of the country’s eastern and northern borders.
Dense belts of land mines – some with about 5 500 per square kilometre on Zimbabwe’s border with Mozambique have hindered development in marginalised communities.
According to Africa Defence Forum, as of September 2018, mines were thought to still dot more than 66 square kilometres of land.
A survey of Zimbabwe’s north-eastern region identified 87 communities containing more than 75 000 people directly affected by mines.
The survey also found that 78 minefields were within 500 metres of residential areas. The land mines block access to residential land, inhibit cross-border trade, deny small-scale farmers access to agricultural land, separate communities from primary water sources and adversely affect sanitation and livestock production.
As a result, most affected areas have disproportionate levels of poverty and high rates of food insecurity.
As a party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Government of Zimbabwe is committed to working toward meeting the 2025 target of making the country free of land mines by putting into operation the National Mine Action Authority of Zimbabwe, a policy and regulatory body for mine action in the country.
Reporting to the authority is the Zimbabwe Mine Action Centre, which coordinates the country’s demining activities.
In 2018, Zimbabwe launched its National Mine Action Strategy 2018-2025.
The country has five de-mining missions: The Zimbabwe National Army’s National Mine Clearance Unit, HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group, the Norwegian People’s Aid and Belgian-registered APOPO, or Anti-Personnel Landmines Removal Product Development.
To date ZDF has cleared more than 291 square kilometres of landmines leaving 19,4 square kilometres still to be cleared since the inception of de-mining operations.
Speaking at the handover of Mbamba Clinic in Tsholotsho South on Wednesday Permanent Secretary for Defence and War Veterans Affairs Mr Aaron Nhepera said the presence of landmines by communities had a negative effect on the country’s development strategy and is a threat to human and animal life.
“The ZDF is also engaged in de-mining activities around Dumisa in Chiredzi, Masvingo Province and around Lisulu in Lupane, Matabeleland North Province where military engineers are removing landmines,” he said.
“The mines, which are remnants of the protracted war of liberation, were planted by the brutal and ruthless Rhodesian regime in a futile attempt to prevent infiltration by liberation war combatants from their bases in Mozambique and Zambia.
“The continued existence of these indiscriminate weapons poses a direct threat to humans, livestock, and wildlife. Their successful removal, therefore, does not only improve lives but allows for the productive use of land by inhabitants of the affected communities.”
Mamba Clinic is one of the projects implemented by the ZDF during the ZDF community assistance week.
Meanwhile, Chief Mahlathini has praised the army for its community assistance and urged his subjects not to shy away from joining the army.
“The army has shown that it is a people’s force as shown today by this clinic. We have all seen that being a soldier is not about fighting and killing all the time. It has always pained me that whenever the army recruits, Tsholotsho has failed to fill up its allocated quota because people think being in the army is all about being a killer,” said Chief Mahlathini.
He said there were doctors, engineers, artisans and musicians in the army.
“So, let’s allow our children to join the army and serve their nation,” said Chief Mahlathini.
Online Reporter