Zimbabwe will be importing wood in 10 to 15 years- MP warns

Full contribution:

*HON. MUTSEYAMI:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir for giving me the chance to make my contribution on this Bill.  I am glad with what has been said by previous speakers but there is one point which I want to add.  We should be aware that in Chipinge we have areas where people were forcibly evicted from that place, such as the Mandere area and the Chipanga in Middle Sabi.  These people were relocated to some areas and this eviction was done in 1950s and 1960s.  These people were transplanted including their chiefs, headmen and their culture.  This was done by the imperialists; whites.  From what I know, some of them are relatives of Hon. Matambanadzo.  When these people were evicted, I have realised that the redistribution of Land was being done from 2003 to date.  We would have expected this programme to first of all return the people evicted from their original areas.  These were people who were supposed to have been returned to their areas and then the remaining land would be given to other beneficiaries but after taking into account the people evicted from their original lands.

Therefore, I am begging you that this Bill should start by giving the indigenous owners of these lands; those who were evicted.  In my area we have a place called Ndowoyo in Chisumbanje where we have black soil that is where we find the cane field.  We would like to have the indigenous people getting the land.  Unfortunately, the black people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries are being evicted and the land is being given to a white man called Mr. Billy Rautenbach and he is working hand in hand with the Government.  The original people in these lands were good farmers who were into agriculture especially into cotton.  We are pleading with the Land Commission that these indigenous people have been evicted from their land, they should be returned into their original lands.

The other point I want to raise is that some of this land which is being allocated people include the plantations.  Such areas include Nyanga, Bende, Tillberry, Stapleford and Ellen forest.  All these places used to be fields which were used by the indigenous people for farming purposes.  The people have taken over these plantations and they are cutting down these trees and there is no chance that the people who are cutting down these trees would replant them so that we retain our forests.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I am foresighted and in 10 to 15 years, Zimbabwe will be importing wood because these people are decimating these forests at an alarming rate and yet we expect them to be planting trees, harvest the trees and plant new forests.

Mr. Speaker Sir, I am not going to add something on what has already been said.  Let me move on to a new thing.  I am pleading with the people of Zimbabwe, be patriotic, be in love with the place where you were born. However, we realised that we have people of the Ndau origin being resettled in Mashonaland East, being removed from the people of their area.  Some of the people are being taken to Matabeleland, do we not have indigenous people in those areas who should be resettled in their areas of origin.  People are crossing these countries going to other areas where they do not belong and yet we have people who belong to those areas who should benefit from this land resettlement programme.

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