×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Mzembi a sellout: Zanu PF chefs

News
The controversy surrounding the issuance of 25-year leases to indigenous operators in the Save Valley Conservancy under the government’s wildlife-based land reform programme, deepened yesterday with beneficiaries of the scheme accusing Tourism and Hospitality minister Walter Mzembi of pushing for cancellation of the leases. Most of the beneficiaries are known Zanu PF supporters Mzembi last […]

The controversy surrounding the issuance of 25-year leases to indigenous operators in the Save Valley Conservancy under the government’s wildlife-based land reform programme, deepened yesterday with beneficiaries of the scheme accusing Tourism and Hospitality minister Walter Mzembi of pushing for cancellation of the leases.

Most of the beneficiaries are known Zanu PF supporters

Mzembi last week openly opposed the scheme, arguing it threatened Zimbabwe’s chances of successfully hosting next year’s United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in Victoria Falls.

Mzembi urged the Presidency and Cabinet to urgently deal with the matter, saying the imposition of partners on the conservancy was against Zimbabwean laws. But Zanu PF provincial chairman for Masvingo Lovemore Matuke labelled Mzembi a “sellout who had decided to side with the whites to reverse the land reform programme”.

“Mzembi is trying to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle by trying to empower whites, yet he was allocated a conservancy before he became a minister, and when he became a minister he decided to drop the programme in favour of the whites,” Matuke told journalists in Harare yesterday.

“To me, he is a sellout who received butter from the whites and he is fighting Masvingo province and the people from Masvingo are not happy about it.”

Chairman of the Save Valley Conservancy beneficiaries and Zanu PF MP for Chiredzi South Ailess Baloyi described the leases as part of government’s empowerment programme.

Chiredzi North MP Ronald Ndava (also of Zanu PF) dismissed complaints by the original owners of the conservancies as smear campaigns.

“What we are trying to do is to benefit like everyone and there is a financial outlay that is required to go with the 25-year leases,” he said at the same media briefing.

“No one was chased away from the conservancies and the old owners should work with us.”

Environmentalist Gladman Chibememe, who is also a beneficiary, said there was a lot of gain in wildlife farming that was why there were a lot of squabbles.

Environment and Natural Resources Management minister Francis Nhema has also defended the scheme, saying it was part of the wildlife-based land reform programme. He said the alleged poaching problems in the conservancy area had no effect on the UNWTO event that Zimbabwe will jointly host with Zambia next year.

Mzembi could not be reached for comment last night.