via Most infrastructure on commercial farms has been vandalised – Southern Eye
MOST infrastructure at commercial farms has been vandalised or has not been repaired since their takeover by indigenous farmers at the launch of the land reform programme in 2000, exposing farm workers to inhuman living conditions, NewsDay has learnt.
by Everson Mushava
Speaking at a ZimRights national people’s dialogue on social-economic and cultural justice in Masvingo last Friday, some farm workers said their ablution and water infrastructure was last repaired more than a decade ago.
“We are now using bushes to relieve ourselves. The toilets are filled up and the new farmers are not building new ones,” said one worker. White farmers used to digest solid waste with caustic soda so that the toilets would not fill up, but our new employers are not doing the same and they have virtually ignored infrastructural development including roads, houses, water reservoirs and toilets. We are living on a health time bomb, particularly during rainy season.”
Charlton Tsodzo, who carried out research on the conditions of farm workers, said over 20 families were sharing one pit latrine at some farms. He said most farm workers had no access to decent housing, education and health facilities.
“The situation is bad in some farms. Some workers are not paid and are staying at the farm because they don’t have anywhere to go,” Tsodzo said.
“Imagine, some workers work without protective clothing and not even safety shoes in the snake- infested sugar cane plantations. They will be removing sugar cane leaves using bare hands, without overalls.”
Some of the workers said they were living in shacks after the new farmers, mostly senior personnel from the uniformed forces vandalised the farm compounds and sold the roofing materials.
Some female workers also claimed that they were not allowed to go on maternity leave.
ZimRights director Okay Machisa said there was need for new employers to consider the rights of their workers. He said farm workers, like any other worker, had rights that their new employers should respect.
COMMENTS
What idiots, see so stupid they can even manage toilets, they were all shouting Pambere when it was being taken from the white man now their brothers have taken over they are suffering, you deserve what you get.
“Some people?” Name and shame chum. We ALL know who they are but it would be so nice to see their names in print!,,
Farm workers are the worst people to stay near them. Those people don’t understand. We are new farmers we don’t need all twenty or fifty of them. Most of them told themselves they will die in farms instead of building homes in rural areas. They must be told that they are at farms because of work. If there is no work they have to go to their rural homes or private homes. Worst of it they are thieves. The only person they feared is a white man. And some of them connived with their former white bosses to steal or damage that infrastructure you are singing about. Ministry of Lands should intervene for us new farmers by telling these farm workers to build their own homes in rural areas and only come for work. And for your information, do you know that these farm workers are in contact with their former white bosses giving them information on what is happening at farms and told to steal water pipes, mortars for boreholes, etc? That is how evil these white people can be.
If the former farmers paid for a borehole or pole and want to recover it how is that theft? Surely the real theft is someone taking over a farm, harvesting crops and living in a house they never paid a cent for??
Hope you starve you racist prick.
But who said that the New Farmers are not the thieves in the first place? Mugabe is the Number one Murderer (20 000 in the Gukuruhundi) as well as being the No. 1 Thief – with about 6 000 farms for Zanu mujibas. Not only did he take 6000 farms he took one of the best dairy farms for Zimbabwe’s No. 1 Mahuri – Dr. Grace. This is why they are the First family. No. 1.
This writer can only be a Zanoid who was given land and has no clue how to farm. You idiot without workers you are nothing. The day is upon us and you will be in Chikurubi when it’s reported the damage you have caused to property and more to your fellow human being. Bloody evil human being.
15 years in and they are still “new farmers”.
15 years ago they bragged about how they would be running the farms better than the whites within 5 years. When they were asked 7 years ago, they blamed sanctions and drought, then said that they would be up and running within 5 years. Now their excuse is that they have no money.
They are just incredibly stupid, because even if they have no idea what to farm, all they have to do is, at the bare minimum, just talk to the produce sellers in Mbare Musika, Marondera Farmer’s Market, Chinhoyi Peoples’ Market, and other hubs, to get a basic idea of what to grow and sell. That takes less than a week to research and less than 6 months to deliver.