Chiredzi Rural District Council (RDC) chairman Mr Aldermen Edward Matsilele has said contrary to reports in the media, no ne in Chilonga area, Chiredzi will be displaced.
Mr. Aldermen Edward Matsilele’s remarks come as the government has earmarked the area for lucerne grass project by Dendairy, one of the biggest dairies in the country. Said Mr. Matsilele:
The consultation had been stopped by the Covid-19-induced lockdown and we are confident the meetings with the local leadership will resume soon,”
No one living in the Chilonga area will be displaced, only a few might need their houses shifted a short distance to allow irrigation canals to pass through.
Local headmen, chiefs and councillors are being consulted so that their people get to understand what is being planned.
The government initially issued a Statutory Instrument that indicated that the state intended to take the land and evict the people to a land that had already been identified.
The announcement triggered a public outcry prompting authorities to issues more Statutory Instruments amending the earlier one.
The tone in the latest Statutory Instrument even suggests that the government will compensate some villagers who would have been affected by the “irrigation project.”
More: The Sunday News