MDC castigates Matabeleland farms grabbing by outsiders

THE MDC led by Welshman Ncube in Matabeleland South has condemned the escalating grabbing of former white owned farms by many people from outside the region saying the government makes it looks like people in the region do not want land and this will render local future generations landless.

Matabeleland South Provincial chairman Pilate Ndebele said it was sad that even local Zanu PF and war veteran members were ecstatic about President Robert Mugabe's directive to grab the remaining wild life sanctuaries and safaris.

He said that was surprising because the local leaders are happy without even considering that so far most of the farms in Matabeleland have since been and are still being acquired by people from outside the provinces while locals are spectators.

Ndebele's remarks come in the wake of  war veterans in the province on  having said  they were ready to grab all remaining white-owned farms as directed by President Mugabe and have demanded a comprehensive list of underutilised farms countrywide.

Matabeleland South war veteran and Zanu PF member Jabulani Phetshu Sibanda said all bona fide war veterans should act on Mugabe's call to grab the few remaining white-owned farms, including wildlife sanctuaries.

Sibanda said as obedient ex-combatants, they would take Mugabe's calls as an order that has to be followed. Thousands of white farmers were driven off their farms in the early 2000s at the height of the chaotic and often violent land reform programme.

"We have been activated, called to spring into action by Mugabe that all farms still occupied by whites should be taken," he said.

But Ndebele a former Zipra fighter said while the land acquisition is a positive development for the nation, it was sad that most of the farms in Matabeleland South and North did not benefit locals and challenged the war veterans and government to consider locals first in the allocation of land.

"The talk of farms take over does not make sense to most of the local people in Matabeleland because what we have seen since the land reform started are people who are not locals mostly benefiting while locals are just observers," said Ndebele. "For example we have farms like Maleme in Matopo being invaded by Rodney Mashingaidze who is not a local, we have people like Andrew Mupungu owning Longvelle farm in Gwanda  just to mention a few."

Ndebele said it was no feasible for farms to be taken in Matabeleland and be given to outsiders and that makes them happy.

"Surely a person born in Matabeleland must not be happy to just see all the land being taken by people who are not originally from here yet his or her kith and kin here gets nothing and say that is a transparent land reform," said Ndebele. "When that happens what do locals think, where do they think the land for their future generations will come from if outsiders who have land in their homes of origin come and grab all the land from here since the land does not grow."

Ndebele said after ten years there will be no land for the future generations.

"Where will our children settle?" he said. "We appeal to government to priorities locals first in allocation of land because if this is not done it will spark conflict in future. We must not want to be loved by the president by just allowing people from outside our regions settle in numbers and forget about our generations to come."

The seizure of land from productive white-owned farms is widely blamed for the current economic meltdown the country finds itself in as it decimated agriculture, which was the backbone of the economy.