FORMER first lady Grace Mugabe’s unbridled ambition to
build a vast business empire in the scenic Mazowe area of Mashonaland Central
province has suffered a major setback after the government repossessed the
iconic Mazowe Dam she had grabbed in 2017, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.
Prior to the grabbing, Mazoe Citrus, which runs a thriving
horticultural plantation in the area, had a 60% stake in the dam, while
government held the remaining 40%. The dam was built in 1918 to irrigate the
citrus plantation and other crops.
Grace, nicknamed Gucci Grace or First Shopper, had taken
advantage of former president Robert Mugabe’s iron grip on power to establish a
vast empire in the area spanning mining, agriculture and an elite private
school — which she marketed as the centrepiece of her philanthropic work. After
privatising the Mazowe Dam in July last year, Grace barred local villagers, who
had relied on fishing, from accessing the water body.
She also banned recreational activities such as fishing,
canoeing and rowing while also restricting the Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (Zinwa) from managing the dam.
Zinwa’s acting corporate communications and marketing
manager Tsungirirai Shoriwa confirmed that the authority now had “normal
access” to the dam. “The ownership of Mazowe Dam has never been a contested
issue at any time. Only access to the dam was restricted on account of
security,” Shoriwa said.
“The security situation has since been reviewed, allowing
Zinwa normal access to Mazowe Dam.”
Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years, was toppled amid
dramatic scenes in November last year through a military coup. Water and
Environment minister Oppah Muchinguri did not respond to questions sent to her.
Mazowe Dam, the country’s 16th largest reservoir, has a
capacity of 39,35 million cubic metres of water. The seizure and effective
privatisation of the dam was unlawful as it violated the Water Act. The Act
stipulates that water should not be privatised, although section 3 says “all
water is vested in the President”, suggesting Mugabe could have granted
permission to his wife to take over the dam. Section 4 of the Act states that
there should be no private ownership of water.
“No person shall be entitled to ownership of any water in
Zimbabwe and no water shall be stored, abstracted, apportioned, controlled,
diverted, used or in any way dealt with except in accordance with this Act. (2)
Subject to this Act, a permit issued in terms of this Act shall confer upon its
holder a right to the use of water in accordance with the permit,” it says.
This made Grace’s move illegal, although the clause
indicating that a sitting president has final authority on water left the issue
open to a controversial interpretation.
Grace’s vast Mazowe empire included an opulent
double-storey mansion on Mapfeni Farm, which can be seen from Manzou Farm from
where she had been trying to evict thousands of villagers since 2011 to
establish a game park. In 2014, Grace grabbed a significant chunk of Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange-listed agro-producer Interfresh’s Mazoe Citrus Estate.
She also has a dairy farm and an orphanage. Before Mugabe
was ousted, Grace had lofty plans to build a US$1 billionstate-funded, but
family-controlled university. Ironically, Mugabe, who vehemently opposed
leasing out farms to former white owners, was renting the Mazoe citrus estate
to local businessman Hamish Rudland, exposing his counterproductive posturing
and double standards during his time in power. Mugabe’s wife in 2013/2014
mounted a fierce land grab of Interfresh estates that ravaged the business,
leaving it with a negligible amount of arable land and teetering on the brink
of collapse.
Interfresh, which had total land holdings of 3 800
hectares, lost 870 hectares, accounting for 23% of its Mazowe land holdings.
This left the company with 2 930 hectares. Of the 3 800 hectares, only 1 067
hectares were arable. The Mugabe family grabbed 414 hectares (39%) of arable
land, leaving Interfresh with 653 hectares (61%).
Mugabe, who seized vast tracts of land from Interfresh, a
once-thriving enterprise listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, is said to have
“invited” Rudland into the farming joint venture after failing utilise the
seized land. The Mugabe family reportedly has more than 10 farms, and are part
of the new land aristocracy ushered in by government’s chaotic land reform
programme which began in 2000. Zimbabwe independent
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