THE government’s delay in relocating Lubimbi villagers from the Gwayi-Shangani Dam catchment area has unsettled them and stalled their personal development, Southern Eye can report.
More than 500 families in Lubimbi are living in uncertainty as the government delays the relocation process to make way for the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project. Although the move was announced years ago, villagers say there has been little visible progress at the proposed resettlement site, fuelling anxiety over their future, access to services and the handling of ancestral graves.
It has since emerged that the villagers cannot plan for the future, given that they were notified of the relocation several years ago.
The community says the land identified for relocation remains largely undeveloped, with little indication that resettlement preparations are underway.
The 500 households face uncertainty and distress over the delayed relocation, amid frustration over limited government communication, water shortage and fear of losing ancestral land.
Plans to relocate the villagers began between 2021 and 2023, with high-level government meetings held in 2023 to discuss the move. However, the villagers — many of whom were previously displaced during Kariba Dam construction in the 1950s — have lived in uncertainty since 2020.
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Villagers said they were only “a lot of trees” at the proposed relocation site, with no houses, roads or a grave site, as fears mount that the dam can be completed before they are moved.
However, the government insists that work is underway.
“Nothing has been done so far, and villagers ended up forcing the responsible authorities to take them to the relocation site,” one villager told Southern Eye.
“Those who went were only shown an area with a lot of trees. There is no structure or anything to show that people are going to be living there.”
“One chief attended a meeting but did not bring feedback with him. He said nothing to us concerning the situation on the graves.”
Another villager from Lubimbi 2, Chiboni area, said uncertainty was fuelling anxiety.
“As villagers, we now fear for our lives because the responsible authorities told us that the dam will be finished this year,” she said.
“Now our fear comes in on the fact that there is no structure or anything in that area where we are to be taken to, and what if they come and chuck us out when they have completed the dam.
“We went to visit the area as a committee some time two to three years back. I think it was sometime in 2023. We went there because we had proposed that they take us there.
“On the issue of what is going to happen to our grave site, we only discussed, but nothing fruitful came out. We are also anxious about what will happen to our people interred at the cemetery and us.”
Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Richard Moyo confirmed that villagers have not been moved yet, saying the government is focused on finishing the dam.
“Lubimbi villagers have not yet been relocated because, as the government, we are still working very hard and making frantic efforts to ensure that the Gwayi-Shangani dam is completed this year,” he said.
On timelines, he said: “I am not sure of when it will be finished, but we will have to liaise with the constructors. The villagers were only taken to the site. So we are left with constructing roads, schools and clinics, among other things.”
Moyo said remains relocation issues would be addressed through consultations.
“We will discuss with the chiefs and Home Affairs ministry so that we deal with moving the remains to where the villagers will be dwelling. We will set aside a proper burial site within the area,” he said.