Stay clear of SA-owned land, warns Mugabe
MASVINGO: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has warned land invaders against targeting South African-owned Tongaat Hulett sugar plantations.
Mugabe’s warning comes amid complaints from the company that some villagers, supported by a group of war veterans and Zanu-PF leaders, were targeting its plantations in the Lowveld.
“Surely, you cannot harvest where you did not sow,” Mugabe said in an unprecedented warning in Masvingo Province.
“We gave you the land. So, make full use of it or seek skills from those with the know-how.”
Mugabe has convened a meeting with local Zanu-PF politicians, war veterans and traditional leaders to avert any possibility of invading Tongaat Hulett’s plantations.
Tongaat Hulett, which also sponsors a local premier league football team, owns vast tracts of land in the Chiredzi and Mwenezi districts.
Most of its plantations are located in Chiredzi’s Hippo Valley estates, Mkwasine, Mwenezi and Triangle, where more than 10 000 people are employed.
Apart from sugar cane production, Tongaat Hulett also produces ethanol fuel from cane sugar for local consumption, as well as stock feed.
The company also has a presence in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland.
Mugabe’s warning is a major shift from his stance against land ownership by foreign nationals and companies.
Over the years, since 2000, he has sanctioned the invasion of white-owned farms, a development blamed for incessant hunger in the southern African country, formerly an exporter of food. – CAJ News