Opposition Blamed for Misguiding Villagers Over Chilonga Lucerne Grass Project 

Minister of State for Masvingo, Ezra Chadzamira says opposition political leaders were misleading the nation on the Chilonga Lucerne grass project and were being hostile to Vision 2030.

Chadzamira also said contrary to misleading reports, the Chilonga villagers were consulted and were the biggest beneficiaries of the upcoming developmental project.

“The projects has so many advantages but the problem is the opposition are the ones who are misguiding the villagers after reading the Statutory Instruments (SI) halfway so that they add confusion to the people,” he told the media Thursday.

“Government engaged the chiefs, the headmen and all other stakeholders and they understood.

“The place that Lucerne grass project is going to take place do not have many people and those few will not be moved far away from their residential areas and they are the first beneficiaries, they will also be allocated their pieces of land that will be tilled for Lucerne grass and food by the company.”

Their legislator Farai Musikavanhu said the project is good for the community and they are the biggest beneficiaries.

“Consultations were done and I can declare that as a resident within the community, I witnessed this happening and I attended some of the meetings as their political representative,” Musikavanhu said.

“Those that are against the relocation need to be read the Statutory Instrument in full and the villagers are fully covered by the law from communal to commercial use of the land so they are de facto covered in the process of benefitting.

“It’s very unfortunate that the opposition turns to put a negative narrative to all developmental projects and demonise vision 2030.”

The displacement of the over 12 000 Chilonga families in Chiredzi of the Shangaan/Tsonga tribe from their ancestral land has sparked an outcry.

The plans to set up a grass growing project for dairy cattle has led to activists calling for the boycott of the Dandairy products.

This is motivated by information that the government and the company are not willing to compensate the affected villagers.

Credit: New Zimbabwe