MDC-Alliance legislators yesterday defended former First
Lady Grace Mugabe’s ownership of multiple farms and quashed calls by Norton
legislator Mr Temba Mliswa to repossess them.
The incident occurred in the National Assembly during the
weekly question-and-answer session.
Mr Mliswa said it was on record that the former First Lady
had multiple farms and asked Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Ziyambi Ziyambi, as leader of Government business in Parliament, when
Government would start repossessing some of them.
President Mnangagwa is on record as saying the former First
Family owned more than 10 farms.
“Government embarked on a land audit to see who was
utilising land and who was not and for what reason and the multiple farm
owners,” said Mr Mliswa.
“It is on record that the former First Lady owns more than
four farms and the Government has done absolutely nothing when the policy is
one-man one-farm, one-woman one-farm. The question is; what have they done with
the land audit and why have they not repossessed land from the former First
Lady.”
MDC-Alliance legislators interjected, with St Mary’s
legislator Mr Job Sikhala shouting: “Mugabe akafa kare siyanai naye (referring
to Mrs Mugabe) and “why do you want to abuse the widow.”
MDC-Alliance legislators briefly brought business to a
halt, while Mr Mliswa accused them of supporting Mrs Mugabe because she funded
their campaigns in 2018 harmonised elections.
“Makapihwa mari naGrace muchi campaigner (you were funded
by Grace during the elections campaign),” Mr Mliswa said.
Mrs Mugabe was the face of the G40 faction that was
expelled from Zanu PF during Operation Restore Legacy in 2017.
The group has found a home in MDC-Alliance, with former
Zanu PF Politburo members — Professor Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao — openly
throwing their weight behind the opposition party’s president Mr Nelson Chamisa
and admitting that they fundraised for MDC Alliance campaign.
Other former G4O members, including Shadreck Mashayamombe
and Kudakwashe Bhasikiti have been coopted into the structures of the
opposition party. Speaker of the
National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda eventually restored order in the
House.
Minister Ziyambi said the Government remained committed and
would not change its stance on the one-man, one-farm policy.
“Government indeed embarked on a land audit and our
President is very clear on the policy of one-man one-farm and one woman one
farm,” Minister Ziyambi said. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment