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Response to the film: Land Hunger
Gift Matshoba Konjana
April 10, 2012

While the deed was done and had to be done as almost all the citizens of our Great Zimbabawe acknowledged. So it had to be done, what then went wrong? This report wishes to dismiss some myths that could have been brought about by a booklet and a film by a professor, who only came to our Great Zimbabwe on a short holiday as a tourist somewhere in our southern province called Masvingo. Probably he was aware of one great warrior called Titus Maluleke, who months later after hosting his grateful visitor, punished and banned all the other non governmental organisations in this region. This professor sought to impress on the world a tired and unimpressive panoramic view of Zimbabwe, just by being a guest of an elite family from the province. This obscure report which to me is shrouded with wishes rather than realities on the ground really needs to be dismissed by any positive and patriotic Zimbabwean.

Take for instance, the film opens with a narration which tries in vain to glorify the actions of the so-called land hungry people, but then goes on to beg us by pleading, saying their actions though illegal, were unavoidable. Unfortunately for the poor professor, his host took him to a province which is a perennially dry area, if only he could have ask for directions, we could have been of much help. For starters Masvingo is one of the driest parts of our country, falls in the natural region four or five. When this country started to be a functioning economy, the settler regime went about in search of good soils. Most of the northern and eastern parts of the country were deemed extremely good for crop husbandry, while regions in the south were cattle ranching and wildlife. Farmers heeded the advice, some soon followed their passion as they quickly got involved in different types of farming. And I think when God saw that, he could have probably said it was good. Quickly Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia was transformed into the bread basket of Southern Africa, exporting while we maintained our strategic reserves. We were healthy and energetic, ready to work and hardworking at that.

This was until 1999, then our leaders transformed into cannibals and selfish. Although we did not notice it quite early in the early 1990s, they had started to use deceit and ruthless lies all in the name of our dear leader. We thought they were going to fade and start anew and begin to renew their own leadership vows and pledges, but this was not to be. And this booklet and the accompanying film are some of their schemes to hoodwink the world in general and Zimbabweans in particular, to believe their tired argument. They have done these things before, I am sure we all know of the Ben Menashe scandal of a treason case that never was, which was dismissed by our able courts, which we sadly miss today. These people are so good at scapegoating and diverting attention. The real drama would unfold in 2000.

With the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the late 90s, came real challenge for governance. The authorities were really caught napping. They tried what they could to win the National Referendum that followed in February 2000, in vain as the winds of change started to blow in this beautiful Great Zimbabwe. Elections which were due the following month had to deferred until June the same year. During this time most commentators agreed that this was another deceitful way ZANU (PF) (ZPF) used. Commentators agree that ZPF had to give itself room and time to deal with the new MDC threat to the throne. For sure they did. Not only did they start to seize farms but also went on a rampage. All perceived opponents were either silenced or killed. Although they went about seizing farms, the people had actually rejected the clauses to do with land expropriation, which they had sponsored and smuggled into the proposed constitution. Despite academic and professional advice, Mr Mugabe went berserk on the farms with his supporters maiming and killing on behalf of their dear leader. And you know what, Zimbabweans don-t easily forget. Films and documentaries like these ones sponsored by irresponsible people like our dear professor, do not help heal the bleeding nation at all but help fan hate and animosity.

Farmers who lost their farms had actually bought them after the government of Mr Mugabe had shown no interest in them. The farmers had gone ahead to invest on the land and they had invested heavily for that matter. Zimbabwe is what it is today because of this vital sector. We cannot therefore allow some crazy professor from some far away lands to dictate to us what-s good and what-s bad for us, we know that already. This is why we will continue in the dugouts; forget the animal called the GNU. This has failed. Mugabe wanted to punish farmers, he was not genuinely empowering our people. If he was, why are they still not allowed to build permanent structures?

Back to the professor-s booklet and documentary, we see a self proclaimed Mr Land Hunger trying to take us back to school by teaching us what he meant. This man is called Mr Rwafa. What is really interesting is that Mr Rwafa is not entirely on the farm. He is running a mine in Mashava, probably gold panning or something. He goes on to say all what we see in the video was bought using proceeds from the mine and his shoe making venture. We are ably told that he is a proud owner of about 28 hectares and currently he is making use of 15 hectares and believe you me he is getting 35 bags of maize annually since 2002 when he came onto the land. This, despite the fact that we are occasionally shown a thriving crop; and that deceit was very evident in this clip. As if in a trance, he goes on to say that there was someone in the neighbourhood who managed to send a 30 tonne truck to the GMB and then says at one time he did exactly that, forgetting that he had already told his audience that the best he was getting was 35 bags. The cameraman then wonders off to show us an empty maize drier. Painting a gloomy picture of the reality, which unfortunately fails to serve the intended purpose.

Then we see a Mrs Mazondo, showing off a good herd of cattle, here she admits that the region is not suitable for cropping although she later says she has some maize, unfortunately we are not shown anything to prove her point. The poor lady goes on to show off her roadside enterprise comprising a butchery, grocery and beerhall, which seem to be doing well. I had the chance to stopover at the site on one of my journeys to Chiredzi, this lady proprietor and her husband are always there and not at the farm. Later we are shown a Mr Kondogwe, who shows off his menacing dogs, probably for hunting as this area is renowned for wildlife. We are shown a drier full of maize, unfortunately we are again shown the same drier, this time meant to be for Mrs Dauramanzi in Hippo Valley, its to notice because on all the clips there suddenly appears a cock hen, which negotiates its way under the structure as if in search food or is it grain. Mr Kondogwe repeats the same findings of the first governing authorities, by alluding to the fact that there is good grazing land but with little or no surface or underground water. The crop we are shown at Mr Kondogwe-s plot looks so poor, as to match his figures of having previously harvested about four and half tonnes. There was also a scene where Mr Kondogwe points out that he is a proud owner of a generator, we are immediately shown a water pump instead, probably from such areas as Hippo Valley or Mkwasine, because in the Chiredzi Conservancy you cannot get any surface water easily water.

Then we go to a Mr Chidhangure from South Shava now commonly referred to Uswaushava, he brags that he uses draught power yet in between his two newly built houses we see a new tractor like those from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). He goes on to show off his developments on the plot, however it is his wife who spills the beans. As soon as she is brought before the camera, she brags about the beer sales and the merchandising they are into, before she says everything you see here actually came out of the beer sales. This is really one of the major characteristics of these new farmers, instead of being on the land they are seen on the road side drinking and wasting valuable time and selling an array of goods. We are then shown some drunken women dancing and ululating as if grateful for something from someone, this is so typical of these new farmers. They are always waiting for windfalls, hoping that someone looking for somewhere will buy them beer after they would have shown him the way or a relative would arrive from town and do that for them.

Then we are shown a Mrs Musiiwa. At Mrs Musiiwa-s we are shown a thriving crop of groundnuts, maize and tomatoes and also a banana plantation, however we are again shown this same plantation as Mrs Dauramanzi-s. On one of my journeys to Hippo Valley I had a chance of seeing this once thriving banana plantation, which used to belong to Mr Cecil de Robilad and had been taken over by the Dauramanzis. For starters Mrs Dauramanzi husband is an ex kennel in the army and therefore cannot qualify to be an ordinary citizen, actually he is one of the many cronies in Hippo Valley. The Dauramanzis went and evicted Cecil-s aging parents from their home and did not allow them to take even a rag. When the old couple left they left three working boreholes which are now all in disrepair. The banana plantation we are shown there is no more. The sugar cane business in the Hippo Valley area had collapsed but thanks to Tongaart Hullet, the company running both the Triangle and Hippo Valley mills, it is being resuscitated again, with the help of the evicted farmers as Mugabe-s new farmers have failed.

Then we are shown on the screens a Mr Nago, this guy is probably the craziest of them all. He says he went abroad in 1975 for seven years. When he came back in 1981, he claims the program already in place. He goes on to say he got prime land, which we know of course. We are taken aback when he claims that his prime land was undeveloped and he had to clear the bushes. He then goes on to say he was scrapped by a wire and had to spend almost 12 months in hospital. Here he helps his audience to know how much our service delivery has deteriorated since this program started. We are again shown some tomatoes and vegetables, poorly done, unfortunately again the editor forgets he has already shown us this clip elsewhere. Mr Nago goes on to lament the shortage of support to the farmers, however he acknowledges the role companies like Hippo Valley are playing in support of the farmer.

All we see in this video is a repeat of what we are used to see on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) before many of Great Zmbabweans switched to free to air decoders. The ZBC used to show us hectares upon hectares of wheat and maize across the country yet in the end they would pronounce a drought. As Zimbabweans we do not need to be taken for granted. We know what is right and wrong and all this hide and seek on the farms should end and will surely end. Zimbabwe will never be a colony of Zvimba again. This period of lies and deceit will some day surely come to pass. God bless our Great Zimbabwe.

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