PYD Calls on Government to address Skewed Land Tenure System and Protect Vulnerable Villagers

As Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa celebrate Africa Day under the theme, “HEALTHY LIFESTYLES PROLONGS LIFE,” at least 3000 villagers in Chipinge District are being served with eviction notices by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. These villagers are found in Checheche, Masimbe, Kondo, Munyokowere, Mucha, Siyekaye and Ndiyadzo villages. The eviction notices gave them seven days to vacate the land they have been occupying since the early 1990s. 

The 2019 theme resonates well with the AU Agenda 2063 no. 1 that endeavor to ensure A HIGH STANDARD OF LIVING, QUALITY OF LIFE AND WELL BEING FOR ALL CITIZENS.

Zimbabwe like all the other African states has a legal obligation to protect villagers from losing their source of livelihood.

The tragic truth is that the government appear to be using institutions to intimidate villagers out of their ancestral land. The government is fully aware that the villagers have little bargaining power to contest the evictions because they lack formal documentation of their customary land.

PYD is dismayed by the continued existence of skewed land tenure systems in Zimbabwe. Inappropriate and weak land governance systems constitute a serious constraint on rural socio – economic development.

PYD is saddened by the realization that insecure land tenure system and dysfunctional local land institutions seriously expose villagers to political vindication and manipulation, and this has an impact on their food security and livelihoods.

Zimbabwe is bound by the tenets of pan - africanism that guide the socio – economic and political philosophy of the African Union. 

It is common knowledge that pan – Africanism aims to encourage and strengthen the bonds of solidarity and collaboration among all the people of African descent, and land rights are embedded in the broad spectrum of the struggle of the African people.

PYD urges the government to address land tenure system for the country to make progress in achieving healthy lifestyles for all. Poor land tenure system limit socio – economic opportunities for vulnerable communities. 

PYD is of the opinion that skewed land tenure system provide a fertile condition for social conflict.

It is for this reason that PYD is calling upon the government to preserve livelihoods and protect human dignity and not to violate the spirit of the law under the pretense of upholding the letter of the letter.

PYD is a community-based organization that seek to have an empowered community with capacity to defend and demand the use and preservation of land as the source of livelihood and the anchor of the economy.

Green Fuel Exposes Mnangagwa’s Empty Promise To Workers

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday officially opened the new premises for the Labour Court of Zimbabwe in Harare where he made a commitment to enhance the administration of justice in the labour market. 

While this colorful event was underway in Harare, Green Fuel, a company partly owned by government was busy dishing out dismissal letters to over 100 workers in Chisumbanje, Chipinge.

In its letter, Green Fuel quoted Section 12 subsection 4(c) of the Labour Act;

“This letter serves as notice to terminate your contract of employment. Your notice period will run from 10th May 2019 to 10th June 2019 in terms of section 12 subsection 4(c) of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01).”

In his speech during the official opening of the Labour Court, Mnangagwa promised to be a defender of the workers’ rights.

“Employers and employees are at the centre of business, business in turn relies on the courts to protect not only proprietary interests but also the interests of workers” said Mnangagwa.

It is worrisome to have Green Fuel dismissing workers despite the government’s recent approval of 10 percent mandatory blending.

Armed with the government’s support on its product, it was prudent for the company to contribute towards the social and economic development of Chipinge community and the nation at large. 

The laying off of workers by Green Fuel despite a government commitment to workers’ justice show a high level of insincerity on the part of the both the government and Green Fuel.  

“We are now skeptical about this project. Does it create or destroy employment? If I compare cotton farming that I was previously engaged in, I have a lot of regrets.” Fumed one of the laid off workers who preferred anonymity. 

“We have always raised concerns as community stakeholders to pressure government to reign in on Green Fuel with little success. Green Fuel continues to operate without any considerations for social license as long as they continue to make profit,” said Claris Madhuku, Platform for Youth Development Trust. 

“We hope the President will quickly realize that Green Fuel is exposing him by continuously operating without respecting fundamental human rights of local communities as always raised by PYD,” added Madhuku. 

A CBO Spearhead the Reconstruction of an ECD Block in Chipinge

A community-based organization in Chipinge, PYD secured support from FEPA to reconstruct an ECD block that was devastated by the recent tropical storm Cyclone Idai. The reconstruction initiative helped children from poor background to access education and in turn prevent the dropout rate in the area.

According to the 2017 Annual Education Statistics Profile for Manicaland Province, school age population for Chipinge is 155 944 and of this figure 54 211 are enrolled at infant level. The district has 136 primary schools and the majority of them serve low income bracket. The ECD block at Rimbi Primary School is one of the schools that serve a low-income community.

Tropical Cyclone Idai effects undermined social developments of the Rimbi community, as it exacerbates inequality and marginalization. The destruction of the ECD block in March 2019, is a clear indication of climate related vulnerabilities. In the immediate aftermath of the tropical Cyclone Idai, the damage to the ECD block interrupted children’s education. This posed serious challenges as the Rimbi community is already strained by the current harsh economic environment coupled with a looming drought.

“PYD places education and health of the most vulnerable members of our community at the core of the community development agenda.” Artwell Chingwara, PYD’s Information and Social Media Officer said.

“When Cyclone Idai struct in March this year, there was a rather depressing picture in terms of the impact of the destruction. PYD provided a strong framework with which reconstruction was possible and fell within the time for the school opening” Palmer Simango, Chairperson of the SDC Committee at Rimbi Primary School applauded the role of PYD. “The support that we received confirmed that PYD is indeed socially embedded in our local community.”

It becomes imperative that for social development to be realized in rural communities, quality school infrastructure has to be constructed. The quality infrastructure improves student outcome and reduces school dropouts. This augurs well with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goal no. 4. Thus, the reconstruction of the ECD block at Rimbi Primary School was done with main objective of improving every child’s well-being. 

Munyokowere Villagers in Chipinge District Face Eviction

Headman Munyokowere holding the eviction papers

On 29 April 2019 villagers in Munyokowere were served with eviction notices by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement. The eviction notices gave at least 750 villagers seven days to vacate the land they have been occupying since the early 1990s. PYD, a community based organization is dismayed by the government’s penchant to use institutionalized intimidation in an environment where the communities might have little bargaining power to contest the evictions, as they often lack formal documentation of their customary land rights and access to justice. In the process, PYD engaged the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on behalf of the villagers. The ZLHR wrote to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement. 

“That some of our clients have been in occupation for a long period as such have built their livelihood, they have built their houses and they have minor children who cannot soldier the harsh winter.” Reads part of the letter to the government. They went on to state that “The state despite demand of request for offer letters has either failed or neglected to provide them with security of tenure.” The letter continued.

The eviction notices are deemed to be necessitated by a 2018 Cabinet resolution on illegal settlers. The cabinet resolved that all people found in farms without any offer letter, permit, lease or title deed are committing a crime in terms of the Lands Consequential Provisions Act Chapter 20:28. 

“The cabinet resolution is admittance that there is rampant corruption in the land governance system and that the evictions are not structured but just a moment to punish some communities that did not vote for Zanu PF in the 2018 plebiscite.” Claris Madhuku, PYD Director said. He went on to state the role of his organisation in the matter. “PYD is at the community level to protect the vulnerable members of our community who are exposed to political vindication and manipulation. Again, we applaud the organizational value of ZLHR in its response to our human rights violation alert.”

Administration of the Lands Consequential Provisions Act Chapter 20:28 neglected the land rights of resettled villagers 

The Munyokowere villagers case dates back to the colonial era. In the 1950s, they were forcibly evicted by the colonial government to pave way for the commercialization of Middle Sabi. They were resettled back in the area in the early 1990s. The first batch of resettled villagers amounted to 39 families and the number has since grown to 750 families. The then Chipinge District Administrator (DA) Mufukera formalized the villagers’ settlement. This move by the local authority heightened villagers’ perceptions and expectation regarding the right to the land.

The manner and timing of the notice of eviction is likely to impact negatively on the villagers’ food security and livelihoods. The absence of formal offer letters, permit, lease or title deed in the area clearly proved a glaring weak land governance system in Zimbabwe. This seriously impair the land use rights of local people as they are not properly reflected in our domestic legal system. Weak land governance systems can thus negatively affect local populations and their food security since they will be open to political manipulation as being witnessed in Munyokowere village. 

This case from a face value can obscure important but masked socio – economic and political issues. The political culture in Zimbabwe has created social inequities in rural communities and they are seemingly allowed to persist, and in the process violate the notion of social justice within the local context. 

“What they have done to the villagers is unjust and smacks of arbitrary authority from our government. The government must ensure that customary land rights are protected and leveraged against manipulation.” Allan Murozvi said. Allan Murozvi is a community activist working with the Platform for Youth Development Trust (PYD). 

The villagers claim to the land evolve through the principle of kinship that was recognized by local government authorities including the then Local Government Deputy Minister Morris Sakabuya. Distortions around customary ownership of land is the bedrock of the villagers” dilemma. The eviction notices enunciated by the government make it clear that the presence of the villagers in Munyokowere since the early 1990s was a result of political patronage. The false sense of security that the local political and administrative leadership provided to the Munyokowere villagers became an instrument for regulating access to communal land, and also determined the granting of rights. 

This was done in the narrative of procuring and maintaining political support in the Middle Sabi.

“The government has to understand and interpret their laws in the context that the control of land is vested in an ancestry group and access is determined by social identity. This particular defines our social identity as a people and we cannot be denied that identity.” Headman Munyokowere is quoted as saying. He is one of the 750 villagers served with a notice to vacate the land. Headman Munyokowere bemoaned the fact that the government since the period of their resettlement failed to ensure that customary land rights are protected.