ReliefWeb

Thousands of people displaced last year by floods along the Tokwe Mukosi basin and resettled at Chingwizi in Nuanetsi ranch need to be relocated again.

Acting Zanu (PF) provincial chairman Paradza Chakona said a high powered delegation of the ruling party visited the area and discovered that the victims need to be relocated again to pave way for a sugar cane growing and ethanol production project by Bio Energy Company.

The company owns Nuanetsi ranch and has promised to clear 60 000 hectares of land for sugar cane and provide about 10 000 jobs.

"We went to Chingwizi on a fact finding mission as a party and we discovered that people are living under inhuman conditions," said Chakona. "We also observed that the people were resettled in an area which is not suitable for any agricultural purposes besides sugar cane irrigation. We therefore concluded that the victims need to be relocated again because they are like people living in a jail.”

The government nearly clashed with Bio Energy Company after it relocated the flood victims in Nuanetsi ranch without first negotiating with the company which owns the land. Bio Energy Company now wants the victims removed to pave way for its multi-millon dollar project.

"The company wants to produce ethanol which will be exported to South Africa because there is enough ethanol at Chisumbanje to cater for the country's needs," said the source.

The villagers have again vowed to resist any attempts to relocate them without giving them compensation. "Relocating us to another place without giving us compensation is just meaningless because we will continue to suffer," said a villager who refused to be named for fear of victimisation.

The government now needs a staggering £8 million to compensate all the flood victims.