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Normalcy returns back to Chisumbanje as stakeholders meet
Platform for Youth Development
September 07, 2013

Following reported boundary clashes in Chinyamukwakwa over the past week, matters between the villagers, the police and the company have been amicably resolved. The emergency committee meeting of the District Ethanol Plant Implementation Committee (DEPIC) held on the 5th of September at Chisumbanje guesthouse lived up to expectation. All the stakeholders in attendance agreed to bury the hatchet and work together in supporting the Ethanol project.

The boundary dispute in Chinyamukwakwa, which had been hitting headlines because of its grandeur, has found a lasting solution. It has been resolved that a physical verification of the boundary will be done to satisfy the villagers and the company on the regularised boundary areas. Villagers have pledged that they will now be ready to take up the 240 plots prepared by Green fuel as part of the Investor’s corporate social responsibility. The delay in taking up the plots had been exacerbated by the now to be clarified boundary as well as internal disagreements within the villagers on the methodology of distributing the plots.

Community representatives in Chinyamukwakwa inclusive of the Headman, Jerry Moyana and Mr Chikope have offered themselves to ensure that an agreeable formular will be used to distribute the plots as soon as the desired method is agreed. Through the support of other elected officials from political parties the plots will be distributed in accordance to the Inter-Ministerial committee report presented by Professor Mutambara in September 2012.

Villagers in Chinyamukwakwa have also requested the investor to help them provide clean water through drilling of at least three boreholes. The people of Chinyamukwakwa needs clean water since they have been depending on water from Jerawachera River.

Due to the engagements with the company, Platform for Youth Development appreciates that the company has now started working on the dust road from Checheche to Chinyamukwakwa. The over 20km stretch dusty road has been so badly damaged by rain water to the effect that it was now difficult for villagers to link up places like Chinyamukwakwa, Garahwa and Mabee from Checheche.

“With this shared consensus and understanding by stakeholders where Green fuel is showing renewed commitment in repairing the road and meeting up to our demands for clean water, we will therefore renew our demand that the government increase their 5 percent mandatory blending to 10 percent” Claris Madhuku said.

The Ethanol project is national and meant to benefit the economy and people of Zimbabwe and particularly those in Chipinge. We continue to urge the stakeholders to act responsibly. The potential of the project has capacity to change the lives of those villagers around the project. Currently Malawi is on 20 percent mandatory blending a status that can be reached in Zimbabwe.

The drive by the villagers is to benefit from the project by becoming out growers in addition to having other supportive programs by the investor where the lives of the people improve.

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