•    200 workers to be rendered jobless
•    Weekly production of 100 000 day old chicks stopped
In a development that has shocked the business community around Masvingo, Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi who has a derelict farm about 5km from Masvingo City has grabbed a productive hatchery project 20km away on the eastern shorelines of Lake Mutirikwi.
The move will see 200 workers at the farm owned by Hellen Mitchell losing jobs and a vibrant project which is the sole supplier of 100 000 day old chicks per week to Masvingo, Midlands and Manicaland provinces being shut down.
Mitchell has been given three months to wind up.
Barquest Farm is the only remaining meaningful industry in Masvingo after mostly Zanu PF politicians took over and destroyed every economic activity including conservancies that created thousands of jobs for Zimbabweans who are now economic refugees in their millions in South Africa and other countries.
Mitchell said she was not commenting on the matter.
Shattered workers were milling around the farm when The Mirror visited last week not sure what will happen next. Some of them were close to tears when they were approached for interviews.
Mzembi who is not new to such controversies confirmed the move to The Mirror. He said he would keep the Mitchells on the land but added that would also run a similar multi-million dollar project on the farm.
He said the peri-urban Farm near Stop Over which he ran derelict was his personal asset and he had title deeds to it. He said Barquest Farm was being given to him by Government under the land resettlement programme.
Asked why he could not do the same chicken project on the farm that he ran derelict, Mzembi said his project there was sabotaged by rogue elements who came and throttled 30 000 birds to death. He said all the birds were killed in one night.
This is not the first publicly known project run by Mzembi to fail. He used to have a supermarket in the city centre called BW which was also run down until workers failed to get salaries. The building is now abandoned and an eyesore.
Mzembi also made headlines in February 2013 when he and former MP Irvine Dzingirai declared that they had grabbed Renco Mine which is probably Masvingo’s biggest mining venture. There was a public outcry and the two only moved out of the mine after the court declared their move illegal.
The current land grab at Barquest is also not the first time that Mzembi has been linked to interests in the land around the Lake area. Sometime last year, the newly installed Chief Boniface Musara told The Mirror that it was Mzembi who worked to ensure that Musara was installed chief in that area. Musara was installed chief late last year.
Musara said he and Mzembi were from the same clan and that whole area around the lake and Masvingo peri-urban used to belong to their forefathers.
However, Chief Chikwanda and his people of the Vaduma totem are viciously resisting the appointment. In December last year Chief Chikwanda’s advisers resolved to approach Shuvai Mahofa and Josiah Hungwe as Zanu PF godfathers in Masvingo to have Musara’s chieftainship reversed.
Chief Musara was reportedly present when Mzembi and security agents went to the farm last week to announce the takeover.
Mzembi’s offer was signed by the Minister of Lands and Rural Settlements Dr Douglas Mombeshora.
When contacted for comment Mombeshora said those who think black farmers cannot be good farmers are from the opposition.
“As Zanu PF government we believe we should empower black farmers in the same manner the British and Ian Smith governments supported their farmers. Those who think black farmers are not good are from the opposition.”
However, MDCT Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora rubbished Mombeshora’s comment and said the new wave of farm invasions by Zanu PF was the last nail on their coffin.
“That’s total rubbish. It doesn’t need a rocket scientist to see that that’s the final on Zanu PF’s coffin. They have run down the economy and they are soon going to reach a dead end. After this where do they go,” said Mwonzora.
Mzembi has been inconsistent in as far as fresh land invasions are concerned. He was recently attacking his colleagues in Zanu PF for invading conservancies and thereby tarnishing the tourism industry abroad. Analysts also said that Zanu PF was contradicting its ZIMASSET goal of creating two million jobs by 2018 when it allows the loss of 200 jobs at Barquest Farm just to please one man who claims a piece of land simply because his forefather either stayed or passed through there.
Masvingo is the most deindustrialised town in Zimbabwe since the beginning of the land reform programme. The whole industry except a few hotels tottering on the brink has closed down.
The analysts also said the Mitchells who have financially supported Zanu PF over the years have learned the hard way about the Zanu PF politics.
“Let me put the record right. I am not invading the farm neither am I trying to push the Mitchells out but I was just allocated the farm. It’s unfortunate that currently their buildings are on that gazetted piece of land but I am willing to work with them. I am going to have the same project on the farm and I am going to invest over 1 million Euros.
“The other farm you are referring to is my personal farm and I have title deeds for that farm. I only abandoned that poultry project after some rogues strangled over 30 000 birds on the farm,” said Mzembi. – Mirror