SENIOR government officials have put in motion plans to
grab productive white-owned farms in Mashonaland West, with Provincial Affairs
minister Mary Mliswa spearheading the action, the Zimbabwe Independent has
learnt.
Sources in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, water,
Climate and Rural Resettlement allege that Temba Mliswa, Norton legislator and
brother to the minister is privy to the land seizures.
Official documents seen by the Independent, corroborated by
accounts from government officials, indicate that the state has already made
moves to downsize two of the most productive farms in the province, to pave way
for senior government officials.
These are Hunyani Farm, a 2 400ha estate located just
outside Norton, which belongs to Peter Drummond and Robert Davenport’s
Stapleford Farm in Darwendale.
Hunyani Farm is currently under an impressive winter barley
crop grown under contract with Delta Beverages and boasts a massive poultry
project which produces 70 tonnes of chicken per month.
It is home to Drummond Chickens, a common brand on the
retail market.
Some sections of the farm are reserved for beef production
and have about 700 cattle.
Stapleford Farm is mainly a horticulture hub that produces
blue berries, which are exported to the European Union market, earning the
country much-needed foreign currency. It also boasts of one of Zimbabwe’s
biggest piggeries.
According to intelligence sources in the security
establishment, as well as officials in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture,
Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, deputy chief secretary in the Office of
the President and Cabinet (Finance and Administration) Martin Rushwaya, is
allegedly one of the senior officials angling to get 500ha at Hunyani Farm.
Mary Mliswa is said to be allegedly seeking a portion of
Stapleford Farm, while a mining executive and top government officials are also
eyeing land.
“Although (Martin) Rushwaya has a farm in Mvuma, he has
been looking to get a farm closer to Harare. He complains that the one he was
allocated by government during the fast-track land reform programme is too far
away from the capital city. He has identified Drummond’s farm and the process
to allocate him 500ha there is already underway,” an official said.
“Actually, he knows how productive the farm is from the
days when he was permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence. He used to buy
chickens from there on behalf of the army and when he left, the supplier was
owed substantial amounts of money, I think in the region of half a million of
United States dollars or so.”
The Independent understands that Norton legislator, Temba
Mliswa, has been instrumental in trying to convince Drummond and Davenport to
voluntarily give up their land.
Officials in the Lands ministry, however, say the farmers
have been resisting the manoeuvres and are hoping government will have a change
of heart because of their production records and the fact that there are many
unproductive farms in the province.
“Drummond insists that he gave up his 5000ha farm in
Chegutu in 1990 after he sold it for half the price to government and was
promised that his farm would not be downsized since he had already
significantly contributed to the land reform programme,” a government official
said.
“He has had meetings with the minister (Mliswa), who is,
however, not willing to budge.”
Official documents also show that Agriculture and Lands
minister Perrance Shiri has written to Drummond informing him that government
would be downsizing his farm to 500ha.
Shiri’s letter, dated May 6, 2020, came after Drummond
applied for a 99-year lease through the OPC for the 2 400 hectares.
Drummond had a subsisting five-year lease for the property,
which has since been cancelled.
“Your request for a 99-year lease has been approved and
will be guided by provisions in Statutory Instrument 41 of 2020, which
stipulates maximum farm size of 500 hectares for your region. The remaining
extent may be leased out on agreed terms and conditions following re-planning
of the land. Our planning team will immediately visit Hunyani Estate 3B to
carry out the replanning exercise,” Shiri’s letter reads.
Drummond declined to comment on the matter when approached
by the Independent this week. “I am sorry I cannot help you on that issue. I
don’t know where you got such information and therefore I am not in a position
to talk to you,” he said.
Shiri has also written to Davenport informing him of
government’s decision to downsize his farm, measuring 1000ha.
Mliswa however denied land gabbing allegations, saying her
duty as chairperson of the provincial lands committee was to implement an
already existing government policy on the downsizing of farms.
“All that is false. As you are aware, the downsizing
exercise is government policy for all farms above the size of 500ha whether you
are black or white. Mr Davenport has consented to the exercise to be downsized
and he is very involved in the whole process. I do not wish to benefit from
it,” she said yesterday.
“As Mashonaland West, we are actually working towards
giving the white farmers security of tenure in the form of offer letters, so
that their investors can be confident to pour in finances in their farm
operations.”
However, documents at hand indicate that Davenport is
strongly opposed to the proposal and has written to Shiri, appealing against
government’s decision to downsize the farm.
His basis of objection is that the farm is under full
utilisation, with 30ha under seed maize, 100ha under commercial maize, 60ha
under seed soya beans, 140ha under commercial soya beans, 100ha under potatoes.
In addition, he has a massive piggery project producing 1
000 porkers per month and a world-class abattoir “built to export rating
standards”, as well as a stock feed plant producing 130 tonnes per week. Blue
berries cover an area of 7ha and are mostly exported to Europe.
“All these operations are mutually dependent on one
another. We believe that by downsizing to a maximum size of 400ha, the entire
operation would become unviable and Zimbabwe would lose one of its most
sophisticated and productive mixed farming operations,” Davenport wrote on
January 18, 2020.
“For this reason, we hereby appeal to the Ministry of
Agriculture and the government of Zimbabwe to reconsider its policy on maximum
farm size in order to not only save existing successful and productive
projects, but to encourage much-needed further investment in similar projects
going forward.”
He, however, declined to comment on the matter.
“As you know this is a complicated and sensitive issue and
I do not want to be seen as taking my issues to the press,” he said. Temba Mliswa said he was not involved in the acquisition of
land, but said his sister was implementing government policies.
“Where do I come in? Is Marry implementing my policy or a
government policy? It is government policy that a farm should have a maximum of
500 hectares. He (Drummond) has 2 500 hectares. They want to keep the land
simply because they are whites? What is more special about them?” Mliswa asked.
Mliswa said if Drummond thought donating 25 sheep to
President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the commissioning of the Norton flyover was
safeguarding his farm, he was misled. He said Drummond and Mnangagwa knew each
other very well.
The Norton MP said he does not know who the beneficiaries
of the “downsized” farms will be, but one Dr Mukona, who was “Drummond Chicken
chairperson, will get 500hactres, where Drummond was doing his chicken
production.”
“Drummonds wanted to use Mukona, but it backfired. Mukona
will now get 500 hectares from the farm, at the place he was doing his
lucrative chicken project,” Mliswa said, asking: “So how does Mliswa come in?”
Efforts to get comment from Rushwaya were fruitless, as
calls to his mobile phones went unanswered. He did not respond to text
messages.
Government has also made moves to repossess farms owned by
former cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo, Patrick Zhuwao and Saviour Kasukuwere.
Zimbabwe Independent
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