From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: ZIMBABWE: ROW ERUPTS OVER EVACUATION FROM DAM CONSTRUCTION
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 22:42:43 GMT

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ZIMBABWE: ROW ERUPTS OVER EVACUATION FROM DAM CONSTRUCTION SITE


/repeat/

an inter press service feature

by lewis machipisa

mutasa, zimbabwe, sep 29 (ips) -- it's business boom time for
local motel manager timothy mbengeranwa as explosives blast the
hard rocks beneath this sleepy rural village some, 200 km east
of harare, the capital.

any new construction in the area means more business for him.
but for the widow moleen nyamatsanza, the building of the
osborne dam is a curse, threatening to cut off her spiritual and
ancestral links.

''this is a mockery to humankind. leaving our ancestral homes
to make way for water and wild animals. somebody will pay dearly
for this'', nyamatsanza told ips.

nyamatsanza cannot remember her date of birth but clearly
recalls her late grandfather who fought in the second world war
when she was a ''big girl''.

two years ago the government and an italian firm started the
construction of the country's third largest water reservoir --
the osborne dam -- which, when completed, is expected to hold
400 million cubic metres of water for residents in the area.

a wildlife sanctuary will also be created on one side of the
dam, which is being built at the cost of about 14 million u.s.
dollars.

nyamatsanza's sentiments are shared by the peasants of mutasa
and makoni areas who do not want to move from their ancestral
lands. this has sparked controversy between the government and
the people.

some of the people appreciate that this is an important
national project. but others strongly blame the government for
placing such a project in an area of ancestral significance and
without consulting them.

how can we support a programme that was imposed on us? we
are being chased from our homes. how did we survive without a
dam for the past years and what are they going to do with our
graves? just cover them with water ?'', 65-year-old village
head, otto mukahanana, told ips.

the headman says the dam site is sacred land and helped
defeat the enemy during zimbabwe's liberation struggle against
the rhodesian white minority regime, led by ian smith.
(moreips)


zimbabwe: row (2)

the idea to buildi the dam, according to the village head,
was first discussed in 1922. but the ''whitemen'' abondoned the
idea after meetings with the village chief at the time and
''strange things'' happened.

''this is surprising. our very own government we voted for
does not listen to its people. now that they are in power they
turn against the place. they don't know what they are playing
with'', he adds.

''our government loves water and animals more than its
people'', says one despairing woman as she waits for evacuation.

about 213 of the 620 families to be relocated have already
been moved -- most of them from makoni district.

the brunt of the opposition is from villagers living in mutasa
because the sacred area is located in their village. they also
feel the dam will not benefit them since their new homes will be
situated far away from the dam.

however, some of the villagers who have been taken to see
their new homes and feel the new places are much better than
their original homes.

''people should not be selfish. the dam is going to benefit
a lot of people. never mind that it might not be us'', says
44-year-old muhonde. this is good news. we are now getting the
land we so bravely fought for''.

anne mponda, a 59-year-old widow from the makoni area, is
also happy with the new move.

''i had a very small piece of land but the land allocated to
me is about three times as big'', she told ips.

but regardless of the opinion of the villagers from mutasa
and makoni, the mutasa district administrator, moses mandisodza
says the project will continue, and each family will be
compensated.

''there is no going back whatsoever. the people better comply
for the process to run smoothly and quickly'', mandisodza adds.

there are plans to compensate the people for their graves,
explains the mutasa district official.

but older villagers like nyamatsanza feel compensation is not
good enough.

''okay they are going to compensate us but in my case who is
going to build the house for me? building a house does not take
a day. so where will we be staying whilst we build'', nyamatsanza
asks. (endipslmet/apc/92)
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