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Zanu PF face rejection over interference on Chisumbanje Ethanol project
Platform for Youth Development
September 15, 2013

The villagers in Chisumbanje have shown maturity by rising above partisan politics during election of DEPIC community representatives. This was shown on Saturday the 14th of September 2013, when all the ten villages under Headmen Chisumbanje, affected by the Ethanol project, unanimously rejected Zanu-PF proposals to impose a pair of controversial and divisive war veterans to join the District Ethanol Plant Implementation committee.

The proposal, which was being sponsored by Member of Parliament elect, Enock Porusingazi found no taker as it now questions the sincerity of Zanu-PF election promises in Chipinge South. The push to have fresh election for community representatives was adopted at an emergency DEPIC meeting held at Chisumbanje Guest house on Tuesday the 10th of September 2013.To that effect elections were to be held through traditional leadership on the 14th of September at Chisumbanje primary school.

In an embarrassing gesture of shame, Phillimon Maphosa (War Veterans Chairperson Chipinge South) and Misheck Busangavanye (Ward 26 councillor elect) all took turns to threaten innocent voters villagers awaiting to vote that they have no right over their land and that their vote never count unless they voted for Zanu0PF representatives. They also used hate language to attack Claris Madhuku, whom they singled out, as a problem because of his popularity. Robert Chirimambowa and Victor Mukwenje had to abandon the poorly attended caucus when their own party supporters warning them against being disrespectful of other community stakeholders.

Misheck Busangavanje revealed that he was under instruction from a higher office and that of Enock Porusingazi to deal with Claris Madhuku and Wedzerai Gwenzi who must not see light in DEPIC because the Chisumbanje Ethanol plant was a Zanu-PF project (ngoda yedu isu vekuZanu-PF). This inflammatory vomit is dangerous for the country because it is being said within two months of Zanu-PF victory and in contravention of the Inter Ministerial committee report presented by Professor A.G.O Mutambara in September 2012. The team of disgraced war veterans in attendance were so blunt to the extent of declaring that even if people were to support Claris Madhuku, Zanu-PF was going to proceed by appointing other candidates from their rank to disappoint progress of the project.

Despite the threats, Headman Forichi Chisumbanje who was given the mandate through Mr Edgar Seenza ( Chipinge District Administrator) to conduct elections convened all his ten villages to speak exercise their right to choice. The ten villages unanimously and unequivocally endorsed Claris Madhuku and Wedzerai Gwenzi to be their representatives at DEPIC meetings. One after the other of the villages who spoke, all condemned ZANU PF and particularly Enock Porusingazi for reneging on his promise to work with the community in getting beneficiation from the project. Most of those who spoke accused the proposed candidates from Zanu-PF as outsiders to the community who were only interested in enriching themselves by defrauding the unsuspecting investor.

“Elections for community representatives were done last year in November, therefore no need to be confused by the agenda of a few power hungry war veterans sponsored by unstrategic political players who are controversial and only good during sloganeering,” Bothwell Zito of Muyondozi village fumed. Claris Madhuku who heads Platform for Youth Development, an organisation that has been at the centre of this dispute since 2010, expressed satisfaction by the confidence shown by the villagers on his role. “I feel energized that the community has spoken beyond partisan and narrow agendas. I will use this mandate to be very effective during DEPIC meetings. Unlike some stakeholders in DEPIC who represents themselves am privileged I represent a very organised and expectant community,” Madhuku said. Claris Madhuku expressed worry that some members belonging to Zanu-PF changed their attitude from consensus to imposition immediately after the 31 July elections. This had been the reason why a deadlock had to be solved by the affected community. Since Platform for Youth Development has been working with the villagers even before DEPIC, the pressure group will continue to be very effective in pushing the investor to work on the 30 km dusty road connecting Checheche with Garahwa, Chinyamukwakwa and Mabee villagers. Recently, PYD was able to make a breakthrough to ensure villagers in Chinyamukwakwa gets safe water through the drilling of three more boreholes in the most hard hit areas.

Madhuku confirms that he was able to talk through other important stakeholders until the threat of unrest was calm in Chinyamukwakwa. Zanu-PF sympathisers within DEPIC always wanted to define the problem in Chinyamukwakwa as political despite sensitivities around boundary and land clashes in Zimbabwe. Through the intervention by PYD, villagers in Chinyamukwakwa will be ready to take the 240 plots prepared by the investor in addition to the consideration of being sugarcane out growers on 2hactares each for the affected homesteads.

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