Village heads under acting Chief Nyajena are accusing the traditional leader of forcing them to pay US$30 for a register which each village head is expected to have.
Some village heads told TellZim News that they were asked to pay US$30 per copy which the Chief claims is for his stamp.
Ward 25 Councillor Livison Mudzonga said the Chief was not charging for the register per se but he was charging US$25 for his stamp. Said Mudzonga:
It is true village heads were given registers by the Chief. The registers are for free but the Chief’s stamp which is on every register is charged.
However, when he came to our ward some village heads could not collect the registers since they had no money on them and will have to get the money first.
The Registers Are Important
Mudzonga told TellZim News that each village head should have a list of households, in the register, each household has its own page with a list of members.
He said that when one dies, he/she is taken off the register with each newborn being entered also in the register.
Mudzonga added that the register will be used for planning purposes, especially for social welfare aid distribution.
The Chief Is Bogus
Masvingo District Development Coordinator Roy Hove told the publication that there was no acting Chief Nyajena and was not aware of the development. He said:
What I can say is there is no acting Chief Nyajena as it stands. We are in the process of selecting a substantive Chief since the acting Chief died this year.
That issue, I cannot comment on it because my office is not aware of it.
What they said
One of the former Chief’s officials Josias Hurudza from ward 23 said village heads from his area got the registers and no one was complaining.
One village head said that instead of sympathising with his subjects, the Chief was trying to fleece them. He said:
We are enduring difficult times here in rural areas, people are busy preparing for the farming season and on the other hand, most people have no food.
So we are forced to get money from our subjects who have no money. So this is not fair at all.
Another village head said US$30 was just too much considering that the Chief Nyajena area has 100 village heads. He said:
The Chief is milking us, $US30 for a stamp alone, that’s daylight robbery. We understand that we have to pay something to him but that is too much. If he had asked for US$5, I don’t think we would be complaining.
Imagine he has more than 100 villages under his jurisdiction and it means he will get more than US$3000 from the registers.