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OpenZCTU Condemns Govt's "Zionist" Approach Towards Illegal Land Occupiers
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has criticised the government’s approach in dealing with illegal occupations of land and likened the eviction of villagers to the seizure of Arab land by Jewish settlers in Palestine since 1948.
This comes after the government demolished the homes of some villagers in Masvingo and Matabeleland South provinces raising fears that the nation is slowly backsliding to the 2005 Operation Murambatsvina demolitions.
Many occupants facing demolitions had settled in the areas for decades only to be arrested and prosecuted for illegal land occupation.
Speaking to NewZimbabwe.com on Tuesday, ZCTU secretary general, Japhet Moyo implored government officials to be humane and desist from creating a needless humanitarian crisis. Said Moyo:
Land is a right and thus should be accessible to all individuals. In the past, we have noted the regularisation of informal settlements for political expediency.
Now that elections are over, politicians are looking the other way as if nothing is happening.
We are faced with a humanitarian crisis, we expect the government to approach the issue with cool heads.
A “Zionist” approach towards alleged illegal settlers is not a solution.
Moyo said the ZCTU stands against the perpetuation of exclusionary colonial laws adding that some villagers are being evicted by greedy political bigwigs who want more land for themselves. He said:
The same laws being invoked to evict villagers are also undermining the authority of traditional leaders who settled the villagers in the first place.
These villagers were not settling themselves, but they got a go-ahead from traditional leaders and in some cases, they got a go-ahead from land officers.
The operation has exposed our government’s ineptitude. It left the villagers undisturbed for decades only to bombard them with evictions on short notice.
If our leaders have the conscience and time for some soul-searching, they will realize their errors and omissions.
On 13 February this year, the Zimbabwe Republic Police said 3 700 people had been arrested countrywide under the ongoing Government operation dubbed “No To Land Barons and Illegal Settlements on Land”.
According to the Police, 28 people were arrested in Tokwane-Ngundu Resettlement, 26 people were arrested for allegedly occupying grazing lands and distributing gazetted land to their relatives at Lazy Five Farm in Karoi, and 123 people were arrested at Enyandeni Resettlement Area, Gwanda.
More: Pindula News
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