Source: EASTERN NEWS | Govt to displace more for diamond mining – DailyNews Live
Bernard Chiketo 28 September 2017
PENHALONGA – Government – through its Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond
Company (ZCDC) – could relocate more people in Manicaland province to pave
way for diamond mining, if it secures claims to the Tsvingwe area.
Tsvingwe villagers do not have title deeds to the land.
Diamonds were reportedly discovered in Penhalonga – just outside Mutare –
in April this year.
This comes as several diamond miners, before they were force-merged to
form ZCDC, relocated scores of people from the gem-rich Chiadzwa area to
Arda Transau.
The Daily News understands that exploration for diamond deposits in the
area is complete, with ZCDC already working on an environmental impact
assessment.
Mining activist, Farai Maguwu, said the biggest concern was fair
compensation of the villagers.
“Our biggest fear is displacement without compensation. This community
does not even have tittle deeds for their stands. The problem is with
Mutasa Rural District Council,” Maguwu said.
He said without tittle deeds, the community would negotiate from a “very
weak position”.
“They are very vulnerable,” Maguwu said.
The villagers who were relocated to Arda Transau have been complaining
about poor inhabitable houses, lack of schools and access to health
facilities – amenities they enjoyed in Chiadzwa.
A local resident, however, said Minister of State for Provincial Affairs,
Mandiitawepi Chimene, promised to follow up on their property ownership
documents, after the issue had been raised at a public meeting.
“The minister said we should leave everything to her and we are waiting
for her feedback on the issue,” John Muchena said.
Meanwhile, Manicaland authorities are currently battling to secure land to
relocate families from Chiadzwa.
Arda Transau can only accommodate 1 800 out of the 4 300 displaced
families, with government failing, 10 years down the line, to secure
alternative land.
Former Manicaland Provincial Administrator, Tapuwa Mbetsa, confessed
during his tenure that government was battling to find land to relocate
the affected families.
The Mutare District Administrator’s office had previously confirmed that
the desperate families had made requests to be relocated somewhere else.
If the Tsvingwe community resists relocation, they may be forcefully
moved, but it is, however, prohibited under Article 47 of the Fourth
Geneva Convention.
Mixed feelings over SDGs implementation
MUTARE – Civic groups have expressed mixed feelings over the pace at which
government is implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with
most arguing it’s too slow.
The goals, 17 of them – part of a universal approach targeted at ending
poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for global citizens –
replaced the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.
The target is to attain them by 2030.
The non-governmental organisations argue that the goals can only be
achieved if government and intergovernmental drive their implementation at
a faster rate.
Speaking during the commemoration of the second anniversary of the
adoption of the SDGs, National Council of Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe
secretary, Chamunorwa Ringisai-Dube, feels the country has not made any
progress in the past two years.
“As citizens with disability we have not realized any meaningful
development. We hope and prayer that these SDG will reach every person
with disability sustainably,” he said.
Youths also expressed disappointment over the snail’s pace of progress,
with National Association of Youth Organisations (Nayo) member, Lloyd
Munguma, saying to quicken the pace in implementing the goals aligned to
governance, health, education and job creation.
“As a young person, I’m not happy with the implementation of SDGs since
their inception two years ago. Why? Because of the slow pace of government
around issues of governance, health, education and high unemployment among
the youths, so I’m not happy,” Munguma said.
On the other hand, Women’s Action and Support Centre’s, Leah Wandera,
weighed in, arguing the pace is good and that the SDGs were an ideal guide
on what young people are expected to achieve for their countries and the
world.
“…they are giving us young people a vision into how we can contribute
towards the development of the country,” she said.
“In terms of education, as young people we are happy,” Wandera said,
adding that “as a young lady, I am also happy at the progress being made
in gender equality”.
Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe member, Edmore Chigwida, said the
church was also happy with the progress with regards to food security at
the back of the health harvest.
“Although we have programmes in many areas there has been areas we have
made good progress like food security where the Command Agriculture
Programme has helped quite a number of people to have enough food
security.
“We still have a challenge in employment creation but there is empowerment
of youths where we are however still lagging and health is still a
challenge because drug accessibility is still a problem to many people but
we hope we will continue to make progress,” Chigwida said.
Witchcraft hounds Mutare communities
MUTARE – While witchcraft has become a topical subject in President Robert
Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF following the alleged poisoning incident involving
one of the party’s senior officials, few would have imagined that what is
happening in the ruling party is just a microcosm of a much bigger problem
confronting communities.
In a shocking revelation, a programmes officer with one of the children’s
homes based in this eastern border city cited witchcraft as one of the
contributing factors driving children from their homes onto the streets.
As a result, municipalities throughout the country are grappling with the
menace of children living on the streets, which has been compounded by
several other factors, among them the rise in cases of delinquency
involving children, and the upsurge in the number of children orphaned by
the HIV/Aids pandemic.
Chikondi Nsama, a senior programmes officer at Simukai Child Protection
said he has observed that some of the children end up on the streets in
search of peace because their homes have been turned up-side-down owing to
witchcraft.
“There is a diverse range of factors that either push or pull children
onto the streets ranging from abuse and poverty to the outright bizarre,”
he said.
Witchcraft is defined as the art or practices of a witch; sorcery; magic;
magical influence or witchery.
In the popular sense of the word, no mention is made either of witches or
of witchcraft in Scripture although the “witch of En-dor” referred in the
book of Samuel was a necromancer, referring to one who feigned converse
with the dead.
The damsel with “a spirit of divination” in the book of Acts was possessed
by an evil spirit, or, as the words are literally rendered, “having a
spirit, a python.”
Despite being a largely Christian community, many Zimbabweans blame their
personal troubles on supernatural influences such as witchcraft.
Hardly a week passes without a local report or newspaper story on the
practice.
Just recently, Mugabe hit the roof, threatening to take stern action
against people accusing him of allegedly bewitching Vice President Emerson
Mnangagwa, who fell sick at a Zanu PF rally in Gwanda and had to be
airlifted to a hospital in the Gweru.
He told thousands of people at his party’s youth league interface rally in
Gweru that people accusing him of witchcraft should be taken to court to
answer charges of violating some sections of the Witchcraft Suppression
Act.
However, Zanu PF dumped former vice president Joice Mujuru in 2014
accusing her of visiting n’angas in an attempt to unseat Mugabe.
She was also accused of being incompetent and corrupt, an accusation she
dismissed as misleading.
However, not many would have imagined that this emotive subject is
contributing to the increase in the number of children flocking to
children’s homes or teeming the streets.
Said Nsama: “We have a case of a child who claims that he would have
sensations of something creeping up his leg whenever he was at home and
whenever he went to a close relative”.
Nsama said the sensation would stop the moment he would have left home.
Simukai director Babra Matsanga said in most cases children endure
unimaginable abuse for them to then consider the streets a safer space
than home.
“It is so sad that they get traumatised to an extent that they consider
the streets a safer haven. Some of the abuses these children are subjected
to leave you wondering what kind of a people we are,” Matsanga said.
She said her organisation was battling to take these children either back
into their homes and into foster homes where they are unable to go back
home.
“We continue to give them hope that no matter what situation they are in
they can have hope,” Matsanga said.
The organisation which works with children on the streets, in protective
custody and in homes is struggling to feed children under their care.
While the Presbyterian Church has been one of their biggest benefactors
with constituent cereal donations, a lot more need to be done to assist
them.
“We rarely get donations of meat so this luncheon is an early Christmas.
“We hope that corporates will learn from this gesture and also come
through to support the children,” Matsanga said.
Central to the organisation’s efforts to empower children is ensuring that
they get both academic and technical training.
“We believe that if a child is sent to school and is supported they can be
whatever that want to be in life,” she said.
Nsama said some of the children the organisation has been working with are
in university and some are now professionals in diverse fields.
The organisation also runs a vocational college currently offering
carpentry, catering and cosmetology while they also support some children
and some child-headed families with income generating projects.
Manicaland agric show opens
THIS year’s edition of the Manicaland Agricultural Show Society will open
today with event organisers expecting the number of exhibitors taking part
in the showcase to surpass that of last year.
The show, which begins today and ends on Sunday, is being held under the
theme “Sustainable Industrial and Agricultural Innovations through
Renewable Energy”.
Last year, about 160 exhibitors showcased their products. Indications are
that this year’s edition will be much bigger than the previous one.
“Exhibitors are still coming through and we hope by the end of the day
(yesterday) we would have established the exact number of exhibitors
participating,” said Dumisani Mapungwana, the society’s publicity
secretary.
Mapungwana said the exhibition was set to unlock business avenues for
players in various sectors of the economy.
It will also offer an opportunity for exhibitors to learn from each other
and go the extra mile to enhance agricultural production across the
province.
Mapungwana said people attending the show should expect arena displays
from the Zimbabwe National Army, Mutare City Council’s dog displays, drum
majorettes as well as gymnasts.
He said dancehall sensation Winky D will headline a strong cast of
musicians who include Killer T, Freeman, Blessing Shumba, Diamond Kid,
Fabulous, Juicer Mpostori and Hungwe Stars among others to perform on
Saturday evening.
“We have a lot of fun, educative and informative displays from our
exhibitors,” he said.
The show begins with a Traders’ Day, which is also open to the public.
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