A synopsis of the Chisumbanje Land Dispute

Abstract

The land dispute in Chisumbanje pitting Green fuel, Agricultural Rural Development Authority, Chipinge Rural District Council and the villagers of Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa is real and has been raging for a decade since 2008.

Discussions and debate have achieved very little with the main reasons linked to the nature of the business model as well as various conflicting interests and personalities involved.

Despite stakeholders raising genuine and serious concerns to treat the land dispute with urgency, most of the effort has been in futility therefore raising the following questions for dialogue, that this forum can actively participate.

What kind of relationship exists between Green fuel Pvt Ltd, ARDA, Chipinge Rural District Council and the government of Zimbabwe?

To what extent is the government of Zimbabwe involved in the monitoring of the Chisumbanje ethanol project?

Where does the local community fit in this decade long land dispute?

What has been the role of civic society organisations in raising awareness including lobbying and advocacy?

Who are the main players with business interests in this project?

Background to the Project

The fuel crisis of 2006 – 2008 prompted the Zimbabwean government’s interest in biofuel production as an alternative to fossil fuel with Zimbabwe adopting a Brazilian national ethanol program but with little success. This led to the government through ARDA engaging Billy Rautenbauch to establish an ethanol production project in Chisumbanje on a Build Operate and Transfer arrangement (BOT) in 2008. Chisumbanje was a preferred location for the ethanol project due to its favourable biophysical resources and especially the rich Ndowoyo soil. Green fuel, then operating as Macdom Pvt Ltd subsequently began working on the project in 2009, with the project officially commencing in June 2010.By then, the project was operating within the ARDA boundaries that was being leased to Chipinge Rural District Council (5 112 hectares). 

The project was bargained at a political level to act as a sanction buster by the ZANU PF government post 2008 election dispute. Since the project was a product of a political bargaining process, it ignored the human rights implications of the ethanol project. It is important to take note that Green fuel, ARDA and the government of Zimbabwe entered a marriage of convenience that now complicates their jurisdictions and responsibilities which remains guided more by the politics of the business than the other way around.

Project Description

• The project received a national project status due to its strategic role to the economic challenges facing Zimbabwe (Mutambara Report 18th of September 2012)

• The project scaled from a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) to a Joint Venture (JV) business model. The JV model now involves the government of Zimbabwe as a business partner (Zimbabwe is open for business).

• The project is scheduled to use 10 000 hectares of land from Middle Sabi and 45 000 hectares from Chisumbanje when fully operational by 2020

• The project has directly affected 1754 Households (1060 from Chisumbanje and 694 from Chinyamukwakwa) as per minimalist research provided by the Mutambara report in September 2012

• The ethanol project is growing sugarcane for ethanol in Chisumbanje and at Middle Sabi,

• The project has so far utilised approximately 14000 hectares of land in Chisumbanje.

Challenges

• Breach of customary and communal land tenure arrangements. 

This large scale agro – based investment adversely affected food security in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa due to encroachment on communal land by the project. The encroachment into communal land heightened concerns over potential conflict between the project and villagers configured around food security, land protection and social justice. 

According to Borras and Franco (2012) a ‘land grab’ is the power to control large quantities of land and resources for capital accumulation. The project signals a loss in access to land by peasants and the common villagers of Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa.

• Absence of national policy guiding the biofuel to reflect national importance. 

In 2012, the inter – ministerial committee of 11 cabinet Ministers recommended that there be a joint district implementation committee set up to include the Council Chairperson, all local chiefs, the local Member of Parliament, two ward Councillors, two workers union representatives and four representatives of 7 the displaced and affected households (two from Chisumbanje and two from Chinyamukwakwa). The District Administrator (D.A) was to be the chairperson of the committee. However, after the 2013 harmonised elections, the committee was made defunct at the instigation of the local member of the house of Assembly in collaboration with the then Minister of Energy and Power Development, Dzikamai Mavhaire. 

The 2014 Portfolio Committee on Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment report to the national assembly, reinforced the need to have a DEPIC platform. Other local and international organisations like Fund for Development and Partnership in Africa (FEPA), Solifonds, Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ), Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) and Platform for Youth Development (PYD) captured the community sentiments on the lack of an engagement platform. Take note that the last DEPIC meeting sat on the 10th of September 2013 before it was resuscitated on the 19th of October 2018. Green fuel remains adamant and involved in serious lobbying to undermine the platform so that the project continues to operate without monitoring.

• Misrepresentation of facts and absence of government commitment to reign in on Green fuel. 

Green fuel has always claimed through its websites and a well-managed interface with the media that it has a profound social corporate responsibility structure that is using millions of dollars to serve the local community and the nation at large (Green fuel claims to have used $11million to develop land for the community  https://www.herald.co.zw/a-sit-down-with-conrad-rautenbach-from-green-fuel/). 

They claim to have drilled boreholes, rehabilitated local roads, involved in entrepreneurial projects with women, reforestation and irrigation farming. This has not been satisfactorily implemented as some of the projects suffered still birth. The Vimbo-Hope project has failed to bring any confidence to the local community. The Green fuel projects are only for grandstanding because they are opaque and run by a small clique of political actors who are bent on proving political points than serving the community. Only the library and technology centre exist but the infrastructure is not in commensurate with the community expectations.

• The role of ARDA being used to perpetuate colonial injustices. 

There is a claim that the land which is earmarked for the Green fuel project expansion belongs to ARDA as long back as the 1960s during the Rhodesian government of Ian Douglas Smith. This narrative that the disputed land area was then ratified by the Zimbabwean government in 1981 after independence is not supported by any documentation. We are being told that over the years, ARDA was not able to court investors until 2008 when this ethanol project was then negotiated. The information provided to sustain the argument in defence of ARDA, has not been backed by any valid empirical data. 

PYD has made an undertaking to verify the argument and found most of the facts vague and self-contradicting. This paper seeks to argue that, the talk to displace the villagers of Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa from their right to communal land is not justified. The affected communities have a rich oral history and artefacts linking them to the land as far back as the 1900s. If the new dispensation government of Zimbabwe fails to protect the villagers, the government reputation will be worse of than that of the colonial masters who were brutal and ruthless.

• Compliance with Recommendations

Green fuel tends to ignore and dismiss authoritative reports and recommendations on its operation. On the 24th of September 2012 EMA opened a docket charging Green fuel of operating without an Environmental Impact Assessment certificate. While Green fuel claims to have submitted an EIA document to EMA on the 22nd of June 2011, there are allegations from EMA that the application was incomplete with  Green fuel preferring paying fines than complying. Recommendations from an inter – ministerial committee, Cabinet and parliament that are well documented, remain outstanding.

• Opportunities that have been overshadowed by alleged corruption

The Green fuel project offers a lot of opportunities that have been dogged by poor monitoring, political bickering and alleged corruption. The project has been presented as capable of offering the following:

• Contribution of power into the national grid. The 2017 statistics provided by Green fuel claims that they contributed 33 000 Megawatt of power into the national grid (Herald 15 February 2018-Interview with Conrad Rautenbauch)

• Contribution of ethanol to Zimbabwe. In 2017 Green fuel contributed 56 million of ethanol as compared to 40 million in 2016. Green fuel produces ethanol which is between 15 and 20 percent mandatory blending (Herald 15 February 2018-Interview with Conrad Rautenbauch)

• Provision of employment to Zimbabweans. There is varying statistics of how many people are employed by the project. While the company has not been consistent with the actual employment figures, where at times it talks of over 5 000 and other times it states that it has over 3000 with 8 000 when the company is fully operational.  We do admit that they provide employment but according to PYD records, the correct figures are +/- 2000

Efforts made by the Platform for Youth Development to engage and talk

 Popularly elected community involving all stakeholders

 Monitoring human rights violation

 Seeking government intervention in terms of the policy pronouncements

 Confrontations (Demonstrations at the mill site and public resistance)

 Media advocacy

 Human rights training

 Litigation

 Community information dissemination

 Training on Nonviolence

The issues that have remained outstanding

 No clarification on the boundary

 Unfulfilled compensation

 No land audits and verification on complaints linked to beneficiaries

 No community share ownership trust

 No clear social responsibility thrust from the investment

 Negative impact on Women (School Dropouts, early Child Marriages, Prostitution, divorces due to increased levels of domestic violence, usurpation of traditional leadership power by political and partisan players, intervention by Green fuel in terms of conflicts related to the boundary disputes to weaken the stronger voices, disregard for community platforms meant to engage and talk)

 Increasing the beneficiary land size from 0.5 ha to 2ha. 

The opportunities for Social Dialogue

 Engaging with the new government

 Clarifying the voice and demands by the community

 Advocacy on the impact of the project on the livelihoods of the villagers and small-scale farmers

 Legal intervention to seek clarification on the boundary

Conclusion and Way Forward

This paper seeks to make various recommendations guided by the fact that there is need for peaceful co – existence between the community, the business and the government. Having been involved in this dispute for a decade, we are strongly convinced that the central government must play a bigger role than the other stakeholders whose role is simple to provide pressure and highlight areas that needs attention

 That Green fuel stop any further expansion beyond the current land size, as it can still meet its projected ethanol production.

 That central government provide a framework for supervision aimed at monitoring and evaluating Green fuel social responsibilities.

 That an all stakeholder platform in the name of DEPIC be formally accepted and also increase its community quota.

 That civic society actors who have been working on the land dispute in Chisumbanje be mobilised to converge and proffer various levels of intervention to assist the affected villagers in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa.

This paper was presented by Claris Madhuku at a Land Accountability Indaba in Mutare on the 1st of November 2018.

MANICALAND PROVINCE ABSTRACT FOR THE CIVIL SOCIETY AND CHURCHES JOINT INDABA

Presented by PYD Director Claris Madhuku at the Civil Society and Churches Joint Forum on 15 October 2018

Manicaland remains one of the most influential provinces in Zimbabwe, contributing immensely to the socio-political and economic development that has over the years anchored Zimbabwe to become attractive in the geo-politics of the region and the world. The province largely covers the eastern highlands and the south eastern plateau of Zimbabwe. According to the 2012 population census, the province has a population of approximately 1.8 million people. Politically, ZANU PF has dominated the province and recently won 19 out of the 26 parliamentary seats that were contested in the just ended 30 July 2018 Harmonised Elections. The MDC Alliance won the remaining 7 seats. 

The Indaba entitled ‘Reclaiming the peoples struggles beyond the political curtains: setting the peoples agenda”, is an opportune moment for Manicaland province to interrogate the commitment by the current government to fulfil the demands and obligations of a social contract between the people (citizens) and their government. Despite the popularisation of the slogan to indicate that Zimbabwe is open for business, the country continues to experience uncertainty and restlessness that has led to an increase in the gap between the poor and the rich due to the rise in the cost of living. The people of Manicaland are equally concerned with the way central government is unfairly distributing resources due to open and brazen corruption that has become endemic. We take note as a province that lack of transparency and accountability has over shadowed government efforts to fulfil the demands of the social contract entered on 30 July 2018 therefore exposing vulnerable citizens to insecurities being propagated by a predatory state.

Manicaland province prides itself in contributing more than 70% of Zimbabwe’s diamond quantum coming from Marange, Chiadzwa and Chimanimani. The Province supplies the best grade of bananas, peaches, mangoes, litchi, coffee, tea and avocado. 

Despite Manicaland being the largest producer of cash fruits,  the province does not have local industries to refine such fruits into other finished products.  Instead such industries are found elsewhere in the country thus depriving the province of employment opportunities.

The province has been pivotal in supporting agriculture and therefore contributed in making agriculture the main stay of Zimbabwe’s economy.

Despite all these contributions to the economy, in addition to having contributed the largest number of guerrillas (freedom fighters) to the liberation struggle that gave us independence from the colonial masters, the province still lags behind development wise. The province is encouraged by the utterances from the President E.D Mnangagwa  who has promised to prioritize devolution and decentralisation in the running of national affairs. The Harare-centric governance model that dominated the Mugabe reign has not helped the country to develop its infrastructure. Manicaland province is still to benefit from its natural resources like diamond from Marange and Chiadzwa and the sugarcane project in Chisumbanje among other various investment projects being implemented in joint venture with the government of Zimbabwe

The Indaba is therefore an opportunity for delegates drawn from all the provinces of Zimbabwe to question their elected leaders and government to account. The platform will also mobilise and empower citizens at the grassroots level to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies affecting their day to day livelihood. The theme for the Indaba is befitting as it seeks to remind not only the government of its obligations, but also the people who must be at the centre. 

Manicaland province hopes to reiterate that the elections are over and Zimbabweans must be wiser and refuse to be the subject of abuse by politicians who have proven to be selfish and partisan without working for the national agenda.

Thank You

Greediness Haunts Chipinge Villagers

The Traditional Leaders Act (20:17) outlines the critical role traditional leaders play in the governance of communal areas in presiding over the administrative needs of the communities. In this regard, their work is configured around land tenure which is a relationship among people with respect to land. However, land tenure is multi – dimensional as it bring into focus social, economic, institutional and political aspects that determines community cohesion or chaos. In Matikwa, Mahachi, Vheneka, Machona Chisumbanje and Bitcon Villages, there is land-related conflict and dispossession that is gradually threatening security and stability. Traditional leaders in the mentioned communities are embroiled in  land disputes with the local people as they are parcelling out land as residential stands to new arrivals in the communities charging exorbitant prices. This exercise is viewed by the local people as poorly conducted with ambiguities open to exploitation and loss of land.

Local families are in disagreement with the manner in which the traditional leaders are allocating land for habitation and the money they charge for the exercise. This is done in a context-insensitive way and this has provoked tension and suspicion among local people. At Checheche growth point, people are paying between $2000 and $5000 for a 300 square metre residential stand, and the village heads in the aforementioned villages are now charging between $500 and $1500 per residential stand from a standard price of between $20 and $50. This has caused additional pressures to land resources, causing disputes to flare up as the allocation is in disregard to land traditionally reserved for grazing purposes. The increase in communal land value is surely a match stick that can trigger conflict. The village heads in the affected villages are basically profiteering from such unfair exercise.

Local people have had their traditional land demarcated for apportionment. This has resulted in the creation of artificial stands for resale by the traditional leaders. At the same time, local villagers are worried by the disrespect to the environment and people’s security. The stands are being created very close to the road and also along water streams. This has weakened community specific informal land arrangements and conflict resolution mechanism as the exercise is bound to be a breeding ground for communal conflict. 

“The communal land has been slowly turned to unaffordable levels to most poor families, and this problem is leaving a deep wound on our next generation. People will soon lose their land as there is no security of tenure and greedy traditional leaders are taking advantage of the situation” Quelani Sithole said. “It is a destabilizing exercise in Chipinge that is putting families into a cycle of poverty and emotional turmoil, affecting current and future prospects for community stability” she continues.

Effort Manono of Vemuganga Community Radio was quoted as saying, “Strategies to tackle communal land allocation should focus on creating community cohesion and reducing the risk of land based conflicts. The people we currently have are a new crop of young village heads who strive on profiteering at the expense of customary rights to land.”

 PYD is urging traditional leaders to ensure security of tenure to local people in exercising their role because people with insecure tenure face the risk from competing claims as a result of arbitrary land allocation. Without security of tenure, local households are significantly impaired in their ability to secure sufficient food and to enjoy sustainable rural livelihoods. When asked for a comment, the PYD Director Mr Claris Madhuku admitted that the traditional leadership need to be given attention.

“PYD is interested in the capacitation of some of these accused young traditional leadership to understand their mandate in protecting settlement patterns that have always made the rural areas safe places

PYD Constructs a Viable Solution to the Land Dispute in Chisumbanje

Background and Introduction

The fuel crisis of 2006 – 2008 prompted the Zimbabwean government’s interest in biofuel production as an alternative to fossil fuel with Zimbabwe adopting a Brazilian national ethanol program but with little success. This led to the government through ARDA engaging Macdom Investments trading as Greenfuel, to establish an ethanol production project in Chisumbanje on a Build, Operate and Transfer arrangements (BOT) in 2008. Chisumbanje was a preferred location for the ethanol project due to its favourable biophysical resources. Green Fuel subsequently began working on the project in 2009, with the sugar cane being grown on two estates at Chisumbanje and Middle Sabi.

Nevertheless, the process by Macdom Investments to secure land for the establishment of the ethanol project was a serious breach of customary and communal land tenure arrangements. This large scale agro – based investment adversely affected food security in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa due to encroachment on communal land by the project. The encroachment into communal land heightened concerns over potential conflict between the project and villagers configured around food security, land protection and social justice. According to Borras and Franco (2012) a ‘land grab’ is the power to control large quantities of land and landed resources for capital accumulation, and this subsequently signalled a loss in access to land by the common villagers of Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa. 

Platform for Youth Development Trust was set up in 2003 by collective efforts of young people who had witnessed political violence in Chipinge District during the 2000 and 2002 elections, with a view to promote a culture of peace, tolerance and cohesion. Thus, programming activities of PYD were formulated within a conceptual framework of community development to improve the social, cultural, economic and political conditions of the people in Chipinge District. PYD is a non-partisan and non-discriminatory organization and was subsequently registered as a Trust in October 2008, MA 984/2008.  Throughout this period, PYD was understood to be a transformative agent for the construction of community cohesion and common purpose. With this approach, PYD managed to foster a set of community achievement and engagement in relation to the land dispute. 

Community Making and Social Justice

A Community includes people with many different points of view and the freedom to express them, but it has to be inclusive, with the great enemy of community being exclusion.  A community is contemplative as it examines itself, thus it increase awareness of the situation around it and the implication associated thereof. PYD strived to ensure that a community becomes a safe place in the midst of a conflict with an intention to resolve it amicably. 

Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa communities found each other in response to the land dispute, as the conflict became a built – in condition. PYD main goal for achieving social justice in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa was about identifying and attempting to address structural disadvantage, discrimination and inequality that was glaringly open in the land dispute. The desire for social justice took the form of a struggle for recognition as there was a serious lack of socio – economic and political recognition and also the need for recognition of voice and identity of the land dispute victims. Recognition shaped the identity and expectations of the Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa communities and its absence could have serious negative impact on community cohesion and common purpose. Thus, PYD endeavoured to create a framework that would encourage the community to have a critical questioning of the social context in which the injustice was being perpetrated. 

Large Scale Investment in Chipinge District

Large scale investment can best be described as the transfer of rights to use, control or own land through sale, lease or concession. In the case of the Chisumbanje Ethanol project, land was converted from local community use to commercial use when Greenfuel encroached onto the communal land of Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa. The process of the transfer of land use in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa was not based on free, prior and informed consent of the communal land users and also not based on a thorough assessment of the investment, but the project was in serious disregard of social, economic and environmental impacts. 

The Chisumbanje Ethanol project can be termed as a crisis management investment, as the government was so determined that it will act as a sanction busting measure. Therefore, there was more political bargaining than economic arrangement in the process of the project design and implementation. The political bargaining was subsequently done with opaque characters with complex political networks in Zimbabwe in order to establish the ethanol project. The Chisumbanje Ethanol project, exhibit huge deficits of transparency, accountability, and contributed to elite capture of land resources. This allowed poor decisions and corrupt practices to be formalized and implemented. ARDA has 5112 hectares of land at its disposal in Chisumbanje whereas the project required an excess of 40 000 hectares but Macdom Investments was allowed to conduct its large scale investment in the area. Thus, the local community was vulnerable and lacked socio - economic safety nets. The project encroachment onto communal land was done by the company despite the fact that such land is integrated into rural communities’ livelihood practices.

The ethanol project has been projected to have been built at a cost of around US$600 million and the face of the project is Billy Rautenbach, a controversial businessman in Zimbabwe. Due to its nature of not being properly conceived, negotiated, and implemented, the project posed a series of threats to the social, cultural, and economic stability in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwa areas because they depended on land for their livelihood. 

The various attempts by the company to dispossess the villagers of Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwa of their land generated varied forms of conflict and resistance which became the order of the day. This was exacerbated by inadequate consultations, unfulfilled promises from Greenfuel and created uncertainty and mistrust within the local community. The ethanol project failed to institute effective arrangements that could protect the rights of the community and ensure trust from the local villagers. 

The Essence of PYD Intervention Model

Platform for Youth Development (PYD) intervention model was premised on a strategy to achieve local social, economic and cultural resilience. Soon after the 2008 harmonised elections and the subsequent June 2008 run-off, the organisation conducted various community meetings and peace initiatives with a view to promote tolerance and social cohesion. The community was greatly affected by the violent electoral campaign. The community making and peace initiatives helped clarify the nature of peaceful approaches and behaviours in community settings, and learn how to develop, refine, and utilize them in community practice. When conflict was described as not just an issue of human security but also a significant driver of food insecurity in local communities, the participants that included community stakeholders raised the issue of Greenfuel. Thus, the focus was shifted to land rights and social justice. 

Communal land forms part of a broad right to life that underlies Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa livelihoods. PYD intervened because of a strong view that the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil rights includes a duty to refrain from interfering arbitrarily with customary or traditional arrangements for land and reckless polluting water sources in the area. The ethanol project was emboldened in misinformation, hearsay and assumption within the community. Thus, the community and the traditional leadership in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa officially mandated PYD to assist in providing the missing information about the Greenfuel project. The most sought after information by the community and the traditional leadership related to the economic arrangement between ARDA and Macdom Investments and the role of the Zimbabweans in the arrangement. The PYD main objective in its communal mandate was to provide accurate information that would inform the community engagement process. In the same process, community members faced arbitrary arrests, threats and even their crops ploughed down by Greenfuel, and on each occasion, PYD provided litigation services through its networks. 

The intervention efforts by PYD resulted in the formation of DEPIC (District Ethanol Plant Implementation Committee), after an inter-ministerial committee recommended for its formation and mandated it to bring together all key stakeholders linked to the project. This was a solid information platform, to assess and monitor the ethanol project and its implications to the socio – cultural, economic and environmental conditions of the community. It became a comprehensive, timely and relevant platform that provided the community, traditional leadership and the government with the information they required in order to monitor and mitigate the impacts of the ethanol project. 

Community representatives to DEPIC were popularly elected and Claris Madhuku was elected as an acknowledgement and endorsement of the role that PYD was playing to amicably resolve the land dispute. PYD also provided human rights training to the community to enhance their understanding of issues of land rights and social justice. The newly established ethanol project did not accord well with the practices and norms of the community. Therefore, the land rights and social justice trainings were in parallel with local, regional and international human rights laws in the emphasis upon right to resources vital for livelihoods of local people. The community found that the conceptual framework of the investment did not fit with their local conceptions of livelihoods. 

PYD trainings provided a safeguard against a potential social dynamite that was ready to explode as the community was then trained on positive civil disobedience approaches. Thus, PYD promoted human and civil rights and responsibilities whilst at the same time challenged the underlying causes and effects of structural power imbalances that was slowly manifesting in Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa communities with a view to allow the community move towards the long term goal of a more equal, inclusive and non - sectarian community.   On 4th of December 2017 and 11th of July 2018, PYD convened strategic meetings with Chisumbanje and Chinyamukwakwa communities to review the state of affairs of the land dispute. The meetings noted with grave concern the outstanding issues that merely needed political will to implement and were only hampered by the arrogance of the member of the house of assembly.

Gaps Limiting Social Justice Advocacy

As the social justice advocacy was gaining momentum and the community gaining confidence in its engagement approach the 2013 Harmonised Elections changed the political narrative of Chipinge District. The elections ushered in a new Member of the House of Assembly. Enock Porusingazi was elected as the representative of Chipinge South. Therefore, it became imperative to understand the socio – economic and political context in which the ethanol project was now being viewed and/or defined. 

Mr Enock Porusingazi came with a belief that the DEPIC had no technical ability to assume greater responsibility of engaging the project and subsequently disbanded the committee. It is of the old idea that still persisted in his political orientation that a formal political representative decides for the people and the people have to appreciate. Community participation was subsequently complicated by the politicization of the ethanol project. DEPIC platform was a process that was intended to be inclusive and serve the interests of the community as well as the project, and it effectively perpetuated the exclusion of some part of a community and served the interests of those politically connected to the member of the house of assembly.  

The disbandment of DEPIC affected the drive towards a meaningful social change that was beginning to bear fruits in the community. Mr Porusingazi failed to grasp the basic fact that social change can occur at three levels. The first level of change occurs at a structural level where community based organisations (CBOs) and political mobilisation strategies normally shift control of resources and power to the community. For effective social dialogue, the second level of social change premised on the contestation of ideas was important, where the key stakeholders came to an understanding of their interdependence and the value of mutuality, reciprocity and compassion. This was a key component of DEPIC in order to inculcate a culture of finding common ground. The final level of social change is normally seen at a skills level where the ethanol project stakeholders became skilled in articulating concerns, identifying needs and resolving conflicts, and in so doing, became active agents for social change. The current elected member of the house of assembly for Chipinge South Constituency has a lamentable tendency to dismiss any work from community members, let alone community based organisations which reinforces community polarization trends. 

Since the project was a product of a political bargaining process, it was necessary to clarify the human rights implications of the ethanol project in order to make it clear that both the company and the governments had obligations that they could not simply ignore for the sake of attracting capital. This complex nature of the characteristic of the Chisumbanje Ethanol project presented gaps limiting social justice. 

The Land Dispute from 2008 to current Date in Brief

In the words of Prof Arthur Mutambara’s inter – ministerial committee report of 2012 on the Chisumbanje Ethanol project, the project is of national strategic importance. However, there is currently no national policy guiding the biofuel policy to reflect its national importance but there exist progressive pronouncements made by reputable institutions and/or organisations. In 2012, the inter – ministerial committee recommended that there be a joint district implementation committee be set up and include the Council Chairperson, all local chiefs, the local Member of Parliament, two Councilors, two workers union representatives and four representatives of 7 the displaced and affected households (two from Chisumbanje and two from Chinyamukwakwa). The district administrator was to be the chairperson of the committee. However, after the 2013 harmonised elections, the committee at the instigation of the local member of the house of Assembly in collaboration with the then Minister of Energy and Power Development, Dzikamai Mavhaire. The 2014 Portfolio Committee on Youth, Indigenisation  and Economic Empowerment report to the national assembly reinforced the need to have a DEPIC platform. Other civil society organisations like ZELA, Ruzivo Trust, CiZC captured the community sentiments on the lack of an engagement platform. 

Efforts made by the Platform for Youth Development to engage and talk

 Popularly elected community involving all stakeholders

 Monitoring human rights violation

 Seeking government intervention in terms of the policy pronouncements

 Confrontations (Demonstrations at the mill site and public resistance)

 Media advocacy

 Human rights training

 Litigation

 Community information dissemination

 Training on NonViolence

Issues that remained outstanding

 No clarification on the boundary

 Unfulfilled compensation

 No land audits and verification on complaints linked to beneficiaries

 No community share ownership trust 

 No clear social responsibility thrust from the investment

 Negative impact on Women ( School Dropouts, early Child Marriages, Prostitution, Divorces  due to increased levels of domestic violence, usurpation of traditional leadership power by political and partisan players, intervention by Green fuel in terms of conflicts related to the boundary disputes to weaken the stronger voices, disregard for community platforms meant to engage and talk

The Opportunities for Social Dialogue

 Engaging with the new government

 Clarifying the voice and demands by the community

 Advocacy on the impact of the project on the livelihoods of the villagers and small-scale farmers

 Legal intervention to challenge

Conclusion and Way Forward

Platform for Youth Development Trust has been advocating for the reinstatement of DEPIC as it was a mutually beneficial vehicle for engagement and community cohesion. Its effectiveness was disempowered by the local member of the house of Assembly, Hon Enock Porusingazi. The continued absence of this platform is retrogressive and do not augur with the principles of community engagement and development. 

 That the local member of the house assembly Hon Enock Porusingazi abides by the various recommendations on the Chisumbanje Ethanol project.

 From an observation point of view, the investor has been given too much free play, with less or no pressure to conform from central government. The resultant effect is that, the investor is dictating the pace and arrogantly dismissing any concerns raised by the villagers

 Central government to provide a mechanism for feedback that pressures Green fuel to conform to promises. Other national projects like Chiadzwa and Murowa have received government attention. Green fuel project seems to be an exception therefore increasing the perception that the investor is an untouchable government partner.

PYD Determined to Expose Cases of Harmful Cultural Practices in Chipinge

Harmful cultural practices are a structural problem in Chipinge District and there are different forms in which this phenomenon is manifesting.  These harmful cultural practices are manifesting in the district because Ndau women are torn between breaching confidentiality by using the law and observing allegiance to a patriarchal culture.  In order to address such an anomaly in the efforts to fight harmful cultural practices, PYD endeavoured to raise awareness on the negative effects of the the harmful cultural practices. One of the glaring impediments to the organisation’s advocacy work on confronting harmful cultural practices was the realisation of the disparities that exist between the law and the Ndau culture. 

PYD carried out a project that was intended to mitigate against harmful cultural practices and oppressive powers that have perpetuated the vulnerability and abuse of women and girls in Chipinge district. It was apparent that every time culture and the law meet, more often than not, it is culture that emerges triumphantly with women as victims. 

A 9 year old girl survived a rape attack from her father who is a practising traditional healer in Manzvire. The father had scolded and sends away her elder elder sister before attempting to rape her, whom he had promised biscuits if she would comply. She screamed for help when her father started fondling her private parts. In the same area of Manzvire, a 50 year old businesswoman raped a grade 7 pupil aged 14 years. The businesswoman owns a shop at Manzvire Business Centre. She called the 14 year old boy over to her shop and took him to an inside room where she raped him. Police had to be summoned and upon questioning the businesswoman refused to answer any questions only to confirm the incident when the army personnel were called at the shop. The boy revealed that he was indeed raped. According to the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) Manicaland Provincial Manager Mr Dyson Masvingise, Chipinge District has recorded over 700 new cases of sexually transmitted infections. This report further allude to the fact that women are the most affected as there are cases of vaginal discharge as well as genital ulcers. 

Chisumbanje Police are currently attending to a rape case on a daily basis, and the rape victims are normally minors aged between 6 years and 16 years. The perpetrators are male adults who would have been advised by the traditional healers to engage in sex with a virgin as a remedy for being HIV+. This has become a challenge in the local community as the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is not readily available in Chipinge District, and also the required 72 hour period for admission of PEP normally lapses as there are transportation challenges and also cultural impediments. 

PYD is appealing to the government to ensure that there are legal provisions that safeguard the minors from sex predators who tend to use culture and misconceptions on HIV as the vehicle through which they can abuse young girls. 

“The situation is bad. As an organisation we have been doing work on strengthening young women’s capacity to confront harmful practices, and we believe that our efforts are bearing fruit as there are more people coming forth with their unfortunate experience. I would like to implore the victims to be strong and have courage to report any violation on their rights.” Cynthia Gwenzi, PYD Gender and Advocacy Officer.

Monetary Policy and Socio – Economic Instability in Chipinge District

On 1st of October 2018, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Dr John Mangudya presented his mid-term monetary policy statement while Minister of Finance,  Prof Mthuli Ncube presented his statement on fiscal measures. This was a moment the nation waited with abated breathe on how the government intended to organize the financial sector in an effort to better serve the people. The expectations of the people were premised on the need to move towards abolishing inequality and exploitation that is prevalent in the economy. The basic role of the monetary policy is to shape and guide our economy and most importantly instill  confidence in the banking system. 

The 2015 Baseline Study of the Title II Development Food Assistance Programs in Zimbabwe posits that 97 percent of the population lives in poverty and that the primary drivers of consumption at the household level are access and availability.

The monetary pronouncement influenced and impacted the people of Chipinge’s livelihood options as it increases uncertainty in the economy. A snap survey by PYD at Checheche growth point, Chibuwe Centre and Vheneka Trading Centre in Chipinge District has discovered that the 2 cents tax per dollar on every electronic transfer has already been effected and prices in local shops have subsequently increased. Cooking oil have increased from $4.50 to $6.50, beef from $4.50/kg to $7/kg and rice from $2.50 to $3 per 2kg. Consumers intending to use ecocash platform are charged 25% more on the stated prices.

“There is panic buying here in ward 28, Vheneka. When the news of shortages was circulating, I rushed to a local pharmacy to buy haematocrit (HCT) for my grandmother. I could not buy it because the stock had dried up within minutes of the rumour. People are not sure of what the 2 cents per dollar actually mean to their livelihood here in Chipinge” said Cherriel Dzobo of Vheneka ward 28.

“In Chibuwe, prices have gone up and people are devastated. After the monetary policy, most traders in the area could not make head or tail of the announcement and they just increased their prices from an uninformed position. Common people are bearing the brunt of the confusion” Catherine Vhutuza of Chibuwe ward 20 was quoted as saying.

PYD strongly believes that the monetary policy imposed high opportunity costs on the vulnerable members of the community who are already reeling in adverse poverty. 

PYD is of the opinion that the consumer uncertainty in Chipinge District represents a harmful element for the effectiveness of monetary policy at community level, and that financial stability must not be considered as a simple goal of monetary policy, but a precondition for reaching the goals of output stability. The governing authorities need to address uncertainty that is prevalent in the community economy by devising precise economic policy to be implemented with the aim of improving the performance of the economy.

PYD Sceptical on the Open for Business Mantra

On 10 September 2018, President Emerson Mnangagwa swore into office a new 20-member Cabinet, 15 Deputy Ministers, 9 Provincial Affairs Ministers and 2 Ministers of State in Vice Presidents’ Office. The appointments were made in terms of Section 104 (1) of the Constitution. The new Cabinet has been dubbed the “Dream Team” in some quarters. Stembiso Nyoni, Joram Gumbo, Cain Mathema and Oppah Muchinguri – Kashiri were the only ministers who were retained from the Robert Mugabe’s cabinet, whilst Patrick Chinamasa, Obert Mpofu, Simon Khaya Moyo, David Parirenyatwa, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and Supa Mandiwanzira were left out of the cabinet with some deployed full time to party business. Newcomers to the corridors of power include Prof Muthuli Ncube, Kirsty Coventry, Obadiah Moyo, Sekai Nzenza and Mangaliso Ndhlovu.

The cabinet’s role is to direct government policy and make decisions about national issues. The government policy is premised on the Zanu PF manifesto. The Zanu PF manifesto structured the election campaign and subsequently government policy, thus laying down policy priorities. The manifesto stated an ideal policy framework whereas the cabinet will have to adapt party ideas into practical and sustainable government programs.

After having his electoral victory validated by the Constitutional Court on 24 August 2018, President Emerson Mnangagwa assured the nation that his government will be seized with the creation of a favourable environment for investors as espoused by Zanu PF Manifesto under the banner of “Zimbabwe is Open for Business”. For Zimbabwe to be open and have various investors scurrying for opportunities, the government needs to address the epidemic corruption prevalent in the country, restore confidence in financial sector and most importantly revive agriculture and industry for employment creation and the expansion of the tax base. 

Zimbabwe is ranked 154 out of 176 on the Corruption Perception Index, a development that do not augur well with the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra. Most of the corrupt activities are recorded within the civil service with law enforcement agents and local authorities being the worst offenders. Corruption has caused immense damage to the social and institutional fabric of Zimbabwe. 

Van Rijckeghem and Weder (2001) did some empirical work showing that in a sample of less developed countries, there is an inverse relationship between the level of public sector wages and the incidence of corruption. However, there is a paradoxical relationship of public sector wages and corruption in Zimbabwe as 97 percent of Government revenue is currently being taken up by public sector wages due to a bloated civil service. Therefore, the task of the new government will be to address this fiscal anomaly and strike a balance between adequate remuneration and combating corruption.

The general populace that reside in local communities hope for a radical change to the economic environment with a view of the current unemployment rate at 95%, making available very few job opportunities outside the government. Thus, employment creation becomes imperative for the second republic administration. The government must ensure that all people who are able to work have jobs where they do not labour in vain, have access to health provision services and decent housing and most importantly are able to support their families. 

President Emerson Mnangagwa is regarded as a pro – business reformer and many have adopted a cautious optimism towards his newly appointed cabinet. However, with a scenario of Zimbabwe being heavily indebted, the task becomes enviable. In absolute terms, less aid has been provided while the need for it has drastically risen due to financial constraints that have been in existence since 1998. It is important for the open for business mantra to be linked to socio – economic justice anchored on moral behaviour with political commitment. 

Chipinge district is endowed with agro – business opportunities, and it has attracted large scale investments in the same sector. Nevertheless, there has been gross negative growth in the district, as large scale investments has resulted in increasing inequality, poverty and a serious absence of community empowerment. Therefore, PYD calls upon the new government to come up with a framework that place people and local communities at the centre of socio – economic growth promotion in accordance with the UNDP concept of Sustainable Human Development (SHD) process. Thus, economic growth has to relate to the quality of life of local communities. 

PYD urges for the development of a business model that would best serve the needs of a human and ecological community. It would become a matter of social embarrassment in an event where local people would witness large scale investments within their communities but that will not translate to socio – economic transformation. The actual value of communal land comes from social factors and could provide a greater measure of equity and socio – economic responsibility. 

There is need to restore public confidence in the financial sector. For the past 18 years, Zimbabweans has lost confidence in the banking system. This was due to the fact that there was both inconsistent and unreliable monetary policy framework that made it impossible for the ordinary people access their money. Both supply side factors and demand side factors affected access to financial services by local communities. The supply side factors presented challenges to the financial sector to avail services to the rural and marginalised communities, whereas the demand side factors enabled rural and marginalised communities to avoid the banking system. Therefore, the new government must come up with a well developed financial system that can enhance the promotion of socio – economic development all across the demographic divide of Zimbabwe. 

Platform for Youth Development Trust (PYD) is a community based organisation that is driven by genuine community issues. The organisation will embark on government policy monitoring so as to interrogate its relevance to issues of social justice and community empowerment. As much as capital investment can bring employment for people and infrastructural development, it is important to PYD that the investments do not create social inequality, rural marginalisation and loss of social capital. Social capital in this context includes communal land and safe ecological system.

Community Cohesion – A Panacea for Social Development and Equal Opportunities

Chipinge Rural District Council has elected Patience Mlambo (ward 18) as the Chairperson and Charles Mugidho (ward 20) as the Vice Chairperson, both of the MDC Alliance party. PYD notes a positive development for a woman councillor to be elected Chairperson for the Chipinge Rural District Council.  There are 15 Zanu PF Councillors, 14 MDC Alliance Councillors and 1 PRC Councillor, making a total of 30 elected Councillors in Chipinge Rural District Council. Patience Mlambo and Charles Mugidho won by virtue of the drawing of the lot beating Councillors Muzamana and Misheck Busangavanye (ward 26) both of Zanu PF. 

This is in terms of section 45 (4) (b) of the Rural District Council Act which states that “If at any meeting at which the chairman or vice-chairman of the council is to be elected, more than one candidate is nominated for that office—             

(a)        the election shall be by secret ballot; and             

(b)        if two or more candidates receive the same number of votes and the addition of one vote would entitle any of those candidates to be declared elected, the result as between those candidates shall be determined by the drawing of lots at that meeting.”  

Councillors Muzamana (ward 16) and Misheck Busangavaye (ward 26) lost the Chairperson and vice Chairperson posts respectively on the backdrop of the drawing of lots when they were tied on the number votes with their respective competitors. 

Chipinge Rural District Council is the principal planning and development agency with its jurisdictional zone that is designed around communal land in the district. The function of the Chipinge Rural District Council is expected to be non-partisan but all inclusive as play a significant role in relation to socio - economic development, from a non – partisan point of view. Thus, the integration imperative (efficiency, effectiveness, coordination) calls for an all-encompassing approach so as to provide leadership, promote community cohesion, stakeholder partnership and be accountable to the community residents.

It is of paramount importance for the elected Councillors and the rest of Chipinge Rural District Council to create community cohesion, unity and sense of purpose for social development to be real and sustainable in the district. This can be realised through working with community stakeholders to develop and implement a shared vision for promoting the well-being of Chipinge district and improving the quality of life of the residents. Thus, transforming people in the district of different political persuasions and socio - economic backgrounds into a community of people drawing inspiration from a common developmental agenda. 

At a very basic level, both the Chairperson and her deputy need to allow the community have the much needed policy interactions outside political party alignment. MDC Alliance and Zanu PF all know what they regard as their political turf. This turf related behaviour was very clear during the campaign period. It was a period of territorial conquests and setting up of political issues around the defense and conquers of party territory. It becomes important to recognize the fact that the instinctive commitment to the defense of political boundaries can easily extend to irrational and intense political battle levels to the detrimental of community development.

Several of the political turf battles that exist in the district created, defined and triggered community vulnerability and social regression. Therefore, Chipinge district need local political leadership that can interact with people of all political persuasion without personal safety and/or issues of livelihoods coming to scrutiny at any setting. The district needs a safe turf for all people.

As the Chipinge Rural District Council design the community’s socio – political and developmental narrative, it is important to prioritize approaches that bring people together in order to create a broader sense of belonging and not polarisation. Its work should reach out across political lines to make development real and sustainable.

A community is and must be inclusive, and the great enemy of community is exclusivity and polarisation. A political group that exclude others on the basis of belonging to a different political group cannot be regarded as a community but a clique who carry the tendencies of defensive  political bastions against the aspirations of a community. In Chipinge, instead of being ignored or denied different political persuasions should be celebrated as a gift and a community value.

PYD put emphasis on the importance of the Chipinge Rural District Council to construct planning services around the needs and aspirations of local communities regardless of political opinion and affiliation. The poverty and social inequality prevalent in the district can be addressed through effective planning, public investment and the establishment of non-partisan developmental agenda. 

The obligation to respect, protect and fulfill rights cuts across political affiliation and people cannot be deprived of their means of subsistence due to the fact of political affiliation. Chipinge Rural District Council is obliged to ensure that the service provision and developmental agenda is enjoyed without discrimination on the grounds of political opinion and/or affiliation. Thus, the new administration should ensure that any new laws, policies and programs do not deny any right either de jure or de facto to selective portions of the population. 

PYD has seen the negative effect of inappropriate resource allocation as normally leads to indirect discrimination within the community, and is advocating for an inclusive approach to community development.

PYD’s Preliminary Statement on the 2018 Harmonised Elections for Chipinge District.

1. Introduction 

As part of the work to promote peace and political tolerance, PYD carried out various activities in Chipinge District and this is a preliminary report on the 2018 Harmonised Elections. The activities were carried out in accordance with the principles and norms of peace, social cohesion, tolerance and peaceful co-existence. This report however, is derived from the data that PYD has been collecting during the electoral cycle period.

2. Background

  

The 2013 elections were premised on the narrative of the June 2008 run-off elections that was characterised by high levels of violence, a reference point that is reminiscent of the “harvest of fear”. This produced subtle violence overtures in Chipinge District. This reference point was used by Zanu PF as a weapon of choice and a means to ensure retention of power by any means necessary.  Comparatively, the 2018 elections were held on the backdrop of the 17 November 2017 so called “soft coup” that culminated in the resignation of Robert Mugabe from the presidency.  The election period in Zimbabwe has been a very competitive and intolerant scenario that brings in diverse viewpoints to the fore, and the victims are normally the ordinary community dwellers. 

PYD believes that it is necessary to promote peace and tolerance in Chipinge as it regards tolerance as one of the key community values before, during and after the 2018 harmonised elections. The elections in 2018 were a contest between the old order as represented by Mr ED Mnangagwa and the opposition which had two view points, one which was premised on Nelson Chamisa’s generational consensus whilst the other voice advocated for multi-party democracy as espoused by the other 21 Presidential candidates who contested the 30 July elections.

3. #MugangaWedu2018 Project

PYD was instrumental in mobilising at least 63 000 young people in Chipinge District to register during the 2017 Biometric Voter Registration blitz. The mobilising exercise was to give young people in Chipinge District an opportunity to choose the political leadership of their choice, and at the same time making one’s voice being heard. This project was dubbed #MugangaWedu2018. The organisation was again influential in encouraging registered voters to inspect the voters roll so as to check information such as gender, date of birth and most importantly spell check and correct polling stations. PYD recorded at least 8100 people physically inspecting the voters roll in the district. 

There were high impact activities that PYD conducted in the district that included 36 ward based and 3 constituency based sports tournament, 2 constituency based cultural festivals and 6 community based public meetings. The basic goal of these activities was to raise awareness on the electoral cycle within the district, and also to use them as a mobilising tool to harness the higher voter population.

As a community based organisation, PYD was active in observing the primary elections that were held by the two major parties in the Chipinge District. The primary elections in both MDC Alliance and Zanu PF were unfortunately turned into a turf related battle and was characterised by heavy contestations that resulted in chaotic, violent scenes and malpractices. This scenario, PYD attributed it to lack of organisational capacity within the respective political parties. PYD witnessed some losing candidates filing as independents at the nomination court. Again, it was noted with grave concern the low number of women candidates in the district.  There was only one woman candidate in a field of 22 Parliamentary candidates contesting in Chipinge District. 

4. Get Out and Vote Campaign and the Peace Pledge

As soon as the nomination process was completed, the Chipinge District was swung into a campaign mode by the contesting candidates. During the campaign period, PYD held a series of activities targeting at promoting peace and political tolerance. The organisation held the “GET OUT AND VOTE CONCERT” at Checheche growth point. It was graced by notable Zimdancehall stars that included Lady Squanda, Shinsoman and Tocky Vibes. The concert was an integration of peace, social cohesion and tolerance with elections.

The Get Out and Vote initiative encouraged registered voters to turn out in their numbers to vote on 30 July 2018, and also brought up a discussion of peace into the elections. At the same event, PYD committed contesting candidates to a pledge for peace, as the organisation strongly believes that peace and tolerance enhances the sovereignty will of the people. The peace pledge entailed that candidates were to be tolerant of diverse views and also desist from inciting or the use of hate language during campaigning and subsequently voting. 

5. Chipinge District Candidate Profile and Dialogue Series

As part of the voter education initiative, PYD ran a candidate profiling series. The series was intended to showcase from a non-partisan viewpoint each candidate’s individual skills, potential and possible development areas. The organisation managed to highlight profiles of 8 candidates from three political parties in the district and one independent candidate. 

In addition to the candidate profiling series, PYD conducted and moderated political dialogue series in the district. This was an important aspect in political engagement and communication between the candidates and the voters. During the dialogue series, it was clear that the electorate was more focused on democratic accountability, and that they wanted a representative who will be answerable to them and represents their views and interests. There were 3 political dialogue series at constituency level and 4 at ward level.

6. Election Observation

The election observation is the organisation’s civic duty in the district to ensure public confidence in the electoral process. PYD had 25 short term observers in the district with 10 being accredited under ZESN, 8 accredited under YETT and 7 observing unaccredited. The accredited observers had the responsibility of recording what was actually taking place whilst the unaccredited were responsible for observing the general environment around and within the wards. PYD observers managed to cover 56 polling stations. 10 observers accredited under ZESN were stationed at 10 polling stations, whilst those under YETT were mobile and observed 2 polling stations each and the 7 unaccredited observers were responsible for 3 polling stations each. At the same time, the PYD Director observed the whole district with an average of 3 polling stations per each of the 5 constituencies of Chipinge District. This makes a total of 56 polling stations that were under the observation of PYD team. 

The observation process was aimed at assessing the legal and administrative conditions under which the elections were conducted. 

The administrative framework has a direct bearing on how the sense of political efficacy develops and PYD considers that as an important aspect in the development of legitimacy and progression towards democratic consolidation within Chipinge District and Manicaland Province as a whole. In Chipinge District, the administrative framework took into account gender issues as there were women as presiding officers and also as election officials. At the same time, pregnant women, nursing mothers and the elderly were given first priority to vote including people with disabilities.

The legal framework provided clear provisions on the role of the party agents, observers and candidates during voting. It also lays out the qualifications of a voter and a candidate so as to ensure citizen participation in a peaceful, free and fair environment. In short, the spirit of the legal framework in regard to electoral process promoted simple, verifiable, secure and transparent voting system. 

a) Key Findings

- PYD noted that the polling stations were opened and closed within the stipulated legal timeframe of 0700 hrs to 1900hrs, and no person was denied the opportunity to cast his or her vote when the polling stations were closed.

- All the polling stations managed to paste their V11 forms outside the polling stations as required by the law governing elections in Zimbabwe.

- The environment was generally peaceful and calm. It was refreshing to note that there were other civic organisations that were visible in election observation in the district. Political party polling agents were present at each and every polling station.

- There was a concern over the number of voters who were assisted to cast their votes in the district (Mashumbi 240, Mabee 110 and Garahwa 80) and at Vheneka Mahiyana polling station 70% of those who had voted by 12 noon were assisted to vote, whilst at Rimbi the number stood at 45%.The number of assisted voters in the district was generally high, with Chipinge South toping the graph. 

- Traditional leaders played a vital role in swaying the pendulum of the voting patterns in the district as they instructed their subjects to profess ignorance of the voting process so as to get assistance. At the same time, after voting, a voter was required to report to the kraalhead that s/he has voted. 

- The traditional leaders made statements that the opposition was sympathetic to Robert Mugabe, and therefore voters were instructed not to vote for the opposition as doing so was bringing Robert Mugabe back into Zimbabwe politics. 

- At Rimbi polling station, a Zanu PF member was openly campaigning for his presidential candidate within the parameters of the polling station, a serious violation of the 300m radius stipulated for campaigning. 

- At Checheche Secondary School, a Zanu PF member was turned away for putting on party regalia.

- Almost 90 percent of the women who registered to vote managed to cast their votes on the election day. This was evidenced by the fact that most women were already at the polling station even before the polling stations were opened.

b) Limitations 

- PYD was only limited to 56 polling stations despite the fact that it  has a strong presence in the district

- Lack of adequate resources to be mobile and provide real time election updates. PYD would have wanted to establish a situation room where tabulation and real time reporting would be done to consolidate all statistics and important updates related to the election.

Conclusion 

 The 2018 harmonised elections in Chipinge District was a much improved process as compared to the past three elections of 2005, 2008 and 2013. There was no visible bussing of voters and groupings within the allowable radius as stipulated by the Electoral Act. The contesting candidates were tolerant and respectful of each other during the campaign period. They even attended political dialogue meetings in their commitment to peace and tolerance. Zanu PF that has been intolerant of community based organisations was very much appreciative of the role of PYD in promoting political dialogue and peace. Presiding officers and police officers conducted themselves well on the voting day. 

Contesting political parties were able to provide polling agents on the election day with Zanu PF having 100% of its agents and MDC Alliance had 90% presence. A significant number of civic organisations like ZESN, YETT, Zimrights, ZCC, CCJP among others were visible at polling stations in the district

. 

PYD observers did not report any serious incidence warranting attention during the voting process. 

PYD takes note that the period preceding voting had a number of worrying cases amounting to vote buying and intimidation of voters. Vote buying was prevalent during the campaign period, and it was a notable trend by most of the Zanu PF candidates who had a well-resourced campaign through state facilities like grain, presidential inputs and abusing official government business. This was noticeable by the pattern of voting in the district. The ruling party in cohort with traditional leaders adopted a subtle intimidation strategy whereby voters were categorically told that it will be known on whom a person would have placed a vote. The opposition had a very subdued campaign as was witnessed by the number of rallies that they held with most of their candidate resorted to non-traditional form of campaign like using social media, door to door campaigns and even one on one campaigns. This approach proved to be ineffective as most people are used to big rallies and even seeing politicians on national television, an area that was maximised by Zanu PF candidates. 

However, vote buying was not visible during voting due to the compliance by political parties and their candidates with paragraph 7 of the fourth schedule of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) that cause cessation of campaigning two days before election day. 

Green Fuel denied its workforce the opportunity to vote

As most Zimbabweans bask in the glory of having casted their votes yesterday, it is a different story to the more than 350 workers from Green Fuel in Chisumbanje who were apparently denied their right to vote. 

Green Fuel flagrantly violated both the Zimbabwean Constitution and the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) and its relevant gazetted laws when it did not heed the government decision to make 30 July a public holiday to allow people to vote but instead remained operational while denying its workers an opportunity to go and participate in the polls.

  

This report is based on reliable sources within the network of PYD’s local election observers, citizen journalist and gender activists that are dotted around the Chipinge district. 

The company took away their right to vote and subsequently deprived them of power, rights and privileges after it ordered that the workers were not to leave their workstations but continue working despite the fact that the day was declared a national holiday.

When certain segments of our community are deprived of their right to vote, PYD notes it as both regrettable and retrogressive. PYD is of the strong opinion that every citizen counts as partial authors of the law through voting for representative to the corridors of power.

Green Fuel’s justification in denying its workforce the opportunity to participate in processes of national importance hinges explicitly on defining the workforce as only productive labour and not as citizens with inalienable rights. 

The move by the Green Fuel management is a huge blow to community building and social cohesion, as the workforce are the key stakeholders of community development. Allowing the workforce to cast their vote, gives them a broader spectrum of civic responsibilities to shape the reality within their community. 

PYD is very much concerned that a company that has enjoyed a protective legal framework from the government has failed to respect such an important national process that only comes once after every five years. 

Government has even gone to the extent of coming up with legislation that promoted mandatory blending, a move that was designed to benefit Green Fuel and it is in the same spirit they were supposed to respect events of national importance like elections.

PYD wishes to remind Green Fuel that voting is one of the most fundamental civic duties any citizen can perform and to deny them is tantamount to slavery. Workers have rights too.

PYD also believes that it is vital for every citizen to vote regardless of their social status and/or work position. This clearly indicates that Green Fuel still underestimate the value of a worker in any setting.

#MugangaWedu2018