Land negotiations must start now —Chisumbanje villagers

Politics
VILLAGERS in Chisumbanje want Green Fuel to commence negotiations before the start of the rainy season, if it needs more land in anticipation of higher production with the coming of increased mandatory blending by April.

VILLAGERS in Chisumbanje want Green Fuel to commence negotiations before the start of the rainy season, if it needs more land in anticipation of higher production with the coming of increased mandatory blending by April.

BY OUR STAFF

Blending of fuel currently is E5 (5% ethanol and 95% petrol).

It is expected to rise to E20 (20% ethanol and 80% petrol) in the first quarter of next year.

Claris Madhuku, spokesperson of the District Ethanol Project Implementation Committee (Depic) said the firm must start negotiations immediately, to give villagers time to adequately prepare in the event of relocations.

“If the company has plans to expand and need more land, let the negotiations start now so that we prepare our community for that eventuality,” said Madhuku. “We are approaching the rainy season and relocations shouldn’t be discussed when people have planted for the 2013-2014 agricultural season.”

Madhuku said relations between the community and the investor have thawed, after the latter had begun implementing corporate social responsibility programmes.

To date, the company has drilled three boreholes, repaired two that had not been working and will resurface the road between Checheche and Garahwa which was impassable during the rainy season.

Green Fuel has also set a separate committee to look at corporate social responsibility programmes which met all the headmasters in Chipinge South on Thursday to get the expectations of the communities.

Madhuku said the land dispute between the company and villagers involving 2 663 hectares has been resolved.

The company has made available 240 plots of between 0,5 to two hectares to the affected households. To date 110 out of the 694 affected households remain to be compensated.

He said the ethanol producer has also started recruiting from the community workers it had engaged before its closure in 2011.

Madhuku said the community was ready to protect its interest and those of the investor against politicians. Before the plant resumed operations, senior Zanu PF politicians demanded some stake in sugarcane plantations to facilitate its re-opening.

Depic was formed this year and tasked with ensuring communication between the local community and the developers at the Chisumbanje ethanol plant.

The US$600 million plant resumed operations in August following the introduction of mandatory E5 blending. It had closed in December 2011 after reaching its storage capacity and low uptake by the fuel industry.

Green Fuel spokesperson, Lilian Muungani could not be reached for comment.