Chief Sigola (94) was only allocated the farmhouse at the 1
600 hectare Springvale Estate. However, the arable land at the farm was
allocated to senior civil servants in the district, raising suspicion of
corruption on the part of the district lands committee.
Chief Sigola, whose health is now failing, has got a small
portion of land around the farmhouse where he grows maize.
A Chronicle news crew visited Chief Sigola’s homestead in
Esihlengeni Village in Umzingwane District and observed that there is no source
of water and electricity after copper cables were stolen several years ago.
Chief Sigola said despite holding several meetings with
district and provincial Government officials nothing has been done to address the
issue in the last five years.
He said he was initially given an offer letter to occupy 70
hectares of land before it was “clandestinely” revoked without any explanation.
“The lands committee is full of corrupt people and their
failure to allocate me land in an area adjacent my homestead is a clear
testimony that something is amiss. I am surrounded by senior Government
officials from Umzingwane District and my immediate neighbour is a former
officer-in-charge of Esigodini Police Station involved in horticulture
farming.” he said.
“I raised this issue with relevant authorities when I
relocated to this place in 2014 and up to now nothing has been done. As a local
traditional leader, how do I contribute to Command Agriculture with inadequate
land?”
The chief said when he was given the farm house, he was
also promised land near the farmhouse for commercial farming.
“They told me in 2015 when I asked for a piece of land that
they were going to send prisoners to clear an open space for me so that I could
be able to farm,” he said.
“I tried to talk to the lands committee, but they could not
listen to me. As a local chief, I should be having a piece of land where I can
do proper farming. How do we create Isiphala Senkosi when land is being
parcelled out to people we do not even know?”
Chief Sigola stays with his only surviving daughter, Ms
Nomalanga Sigola, who is taking care of his daily basic needs. Ms Sigola
travels a distance of about 5km everyday to fetch water from the nearest
source.
Prior to the land reform programme, the former farm owner
used to pump water from his nearby dairy farm. The property was, however,
allocated to a local councillor.
Ms Sigola said her father has been living in abject poverty
since relocating from Ntshamathe Village in Sigola to Springvale Estate in 2014.
“As you can see for yourself, the chief is living like a squatter in his own area of jurisdiction. In fact, we have graves of our ancestors here, which shows that this is our land of birth. When the lands committee distributed land, they sidelined him,” she said.
The farm house occupied by Chief Sigola that has no
electricity and water. “We are now forced to do our farming activities on this
small portion of land inside our fenced homestead yet the area adjacent this
property was supposed to be his.”
Ms Sigola said there is no electricity at the homestead
after cables were stolen several years ago and efforts have been made to
contact the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to address the issue to no
avail.
“Everyday, I have to walk a distance to fetch water. What
is more worrying is that the arable land surrounding the homestead was supposed
to be allocated to the chief, but it was given to senior civil servants,” she
said.
Other local traditional leaders including Umzingwane MP,
Brigadier-General (Retired) Levy Mayihlome weighed in.
“There are a lot of corrupt activities going on within the
local lands committee, which has resulted in some local chiefs being sidelined
in the allocation of land in their areas of jurisdiction.
“As a local MP, I have raised this issue in Parliament
including with relevant authorities, but nothing is being done to address Chief
Sigola’s plight,” he said.
Brig-Gen (Rtd) Mayihlome said land was given to “outsiders”
as the expense of the local community. Part of the land that was supposed to
belong to Chief Sigola but has allegedly been sold to another person
“The owners of the land don’t have the land. Chief Sigola
was allocated a small portion of land to farm and outsiders have ample pieces
of land. I have been battling with the local lands committee including the
Lands Ministry to give the chief proper land and I am still fighting for that,”
he said.
Local headman, Mr Elmon Dlodlo echoed the same sentiments. “Our
chief is like a stranger in his own area. We are really concerned about this
scenario where you have an owner of the land without that land.
“The lands committee has been promising us that that issue
would be resolved and we are still waiting,” he said.
Ms Otilia Sibanda, a local village head said: “Ideally, our
chief should have been allocated the land adjacent to his homestead, but we
were shocked when that land was given to someone else. The lands committee must
be held accountable for these misdeeds.”
Ms Sibanda said Chief Sigola has been reduced to a
spectator watching other people carrying out farming activities in vast tracts
of land overlooking his homestead.
The acting provincial development coordinator for
Matabeleland South, Mr Peter Mahlathini, who also chairs the Umzingwane lands
committee, said they were seized with the matter.
“I am aware of Chief Sigola’s issue and something is being
done by the lands committee to address it. However, the Departments of Lands is
the one handling the matter and it would be best to approach them for
explanation as they are the ones responsible for this matter,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Umzingwane district lands officer, Ms Margaret Ngwenya said the matter is being handled by the district lands committee. Chronicle
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