News / National
Chief Charumbira loses more land as Nemamwa chieftainship is restored
18 May 2019 at 10:29hrs | Views
Headman Nemanwa is expected to become acting Chief Nemanwa until a substantive chief is selected
Chief Charumbira is set to lose more land to the Nemamwa clan following government's decision to upgrade the Nemamwa headmanship to a chieftainship, a move which will leave the former with only one ward.
The Nemamwa chieftainship was abolished more several decades ago after the colonial government classified most of the land as white settler land.
The latest development, however, comes barely a month after the installation of Chief Bere who took a large chunk of land from Charumbira. Many people feel Charumbira could be reduced to a headman as his land is now very small.
Masvingo Provincial Administrator (PA) Fungai Mbetsa confirmed the development and said it was an on-going province-wide programme to correct colonial and historical anomalies. He said the programme had seen the restoration of Neromwe and Bere chieftainships.
"The government has since written and notified the Nemamwa family about the development and now Nemamwa will be at the same level with Charumbira who will remain a chief though his area will be smaller," said Mbetsa.
He said the records showed that Charumbira was given land by Nemamwa so Charumbira could not be the chief while the person who gave him the land is a headman.
He further said that an acting chief will administer social matters in the area for the mean time but will not be able to parcel land until a substantive chief is installed and the boundaries have been identified.
"We are waiting for funding so that we can start our wide consultations in the resettlement areas to draw boundaries between the chiefs. So far, only Chief Musara is the only chief in the province with an area covering a resettlement area and with power to administer matters of land but once we draw the boundaries, others will be empowered," said Mbetsa.
Mbetsa also said there were more chieftainship issues which were being dealt with at the moment where there are no substantive chiefs.
He said the chieftainship wrangles in Nyakunhuwa and Bota in Zaka, Ziki in Gutu and Mukanganwi in Bikita remain unresolved. He said in Masvingo Rural, the Nyajena chieftainship issues were also being attended to.
He said in the case of Nyakunhuwa, a team will soon be send to assess the matter since the last meetings did not yield any results.
"In areas where chiefs have been selected amicably, we are only waiting for the right time for the installation of substantive chiefs while in areas where the involved families failed to agree, we will send another team to review," said Mbetsa.
The Nemamwa chieftainship was abolished more several decades ago after the colonial government classified most of the land as white settler land.
The latest development, however, comes barely a month after the installation of Chief Bere who took a large chunk of land from Charumbira. Many people feel Charumbira could be reduced to a headman as his land is now very small.
Masvingo Provincial Administrator (PA) Fungai Mbetsa confirmed the development and said it was an on-going province-wide programme to correct colonial and historical anomalies. He said the programme had seen the restoration of Neromwe and Bere chieftainships.
"The government has since written and notified the Nemamwa family about the development and now Nemamwa will be at the same level with Charumbira who will remain a chief though his area will be smaller," said Mbetsa.
He said the records showed that Charumbira was given land by Nemamwa so Charumbira could not be the chief while the person who gave him the land is a headman.
"We are waiting for funding so that we can start our wide consultations in the resettlement areas to draw boundaries between the chiefs. So far, only Chief Musara is the only chief in the province with an area covering a resettlement area and with power to administer matters of land but once we draw the boundaries, others will be empowered," said Mbetsa.
Mbetsa also said there were more chieftainship issues which were being dealt with at the moment where there are no substantive chiefs.
He said the chieftainship wrangles in Nyakunhuwa and Bota in Zaka, Ziki in Gutu and Mukanganwi in Bikita remain unresolved. He said in Masvingo Rural, the Nyajena chieftainship issues were also being attended to.
He said in the case of Nyakunhuwa, a team will soon be send to assess the matter since the last meetings did not yield any results.
"In areas where chiefs have been selected amicably, we are only waiting for the right time for the installation of substantive chiefs while in areas where the involved families failed to agree, we will send another team to review," said Mbetsa.
Source - tellzim
