YOUNG farmers from Mutare have given Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Mandiitawepi Chimene a five-day ultimatum to allocate them pieces of land she promised following her appointment last year, or they will demonstrate at her offices.
BY CLAYTON MASEKESA
Mutare Young Farmers’ Initiative secretary-general, Prosper Manjengwa told NewsDay yesterday youths were getting impatient over Chimene’s failure to honour her pledge.
He claimed that when Chimene assumed office last year, she met various stakeholders including youths and promised them agricultural plots.
“Unemployment among the youth is now at its peak. We know that giving the youth land for agricultural purposes will improve the country’s economy. But, it is now long since Chimene promised us land. We are, therefore, giving her a five-day ultimatum to give us the land she promised us,” Manjengwa said.
“If she does not act, we will march to her office and demonstrate against her. What pains us is that the farms are acquired by lazy and greedy Zanu PF elders, who are better at growing weeds than edible crops.
“We have discovered that everyone who holds an influential position in Zanu PF is grabbing more farms, yet the youth are used to as runner boys.”
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He also threatened to grab underutilised land owned by some unproductive farmers.
Manjengwa said there was need to remove politics from farming and take it as a real industry as it forms the backbone of the country’s economy.
Although Chimene was unreachable for comment yesterday, she is on record urging unproductive farmers to surrender their excess land for further redistribution, adding the Manicaland Provincial Lands Committee had started the process of downsizing farms.
