Vice-President retired General Constantino Chiwenga’s wife Mary has grabbed the 300-hectare Arda Seeds farm along the Domboshava Road. ...
Vice-President retired General Constantino Chiwenga’s wife
Mary has grabbed the 300-hectare Arda
Seeds farm along the Domboshava Road.
Sources have told The Zimbabwe Independent that the
Chiwengas seized the farm in February after attempting a similar manoeuvre in
2013.
“On 15 February, they took over Arda Seeds,” said a former
worker. “Mary said to workers ‘this is our farm.’ It was not the first time
that Chiwengas came to the farm. In 2013, they came and said they wanted to
build a school.”
When the Zimbabwe Independent news crew visited the farm
last week, a group of about 10 men, clad in blue overalls was erecting a new
perimeter fence around the property. The farm was deserted, without any other
activity taking place.
Enquiries at the farm’s boom gate — manned by five men
wielding assault rifles — were met with hostility. The guards, however,
confirmed Chiwenga had taken over the property.
“Arda Seeds is no longer here; this is now the
vice-president’s property,” said one of the armed men, before ordering the
Independent crew to drive away.
Contacted for comment last week, Mary could neither deny
nor confirm taking over the farm.
“The best I can do is to direct you to the ministry,” she
said. “They know everything about this matter. You can speak to the director of
lands.”
The Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Settlements
Perrence Shiri yesterday asked the reporter to bring the questions to him in
writing and in person at his offices Ngungunyana Building. But he did not respond.
Arda Seeds was established in 2002 by the Agriculture Rural
Development Authority (Arda) to help meet the country’s growing demand for crop
seeds.
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