BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
VICTIMS of recent flash floods that hit Binga in Matabeleland North are resisting relocation to new land identified by the government for their resettlement, it has been revealed.
Nsungulwe village was the hardest hit by the floods, which destroyed homes, killed livestock and uprooted planted crops.
Infrastructure such as roads was destroyed by the raging waters that displaced over 200 families and killed one person.
The government has since identified land for the relocation of the affected villagers in safer higher grounds as a permanent solution while also offering to mobilise resources to build new houses for the marginalised Tonga community.
However, the offer has been received with scepticism by the Nsungulwe community, which fears a repeat of the 1950s tragedy where Tonga-speaking people were relocated from the banks of the Zambezi River to make way for Kariba Dam.
Thousands of people in the Zambezi Valley were forcibly moved from their lands as part of the project, which was funded by the then Federal Power Board, now the World Bank.
They were promised fertile land, homes and electricity once power generation started, but to date the Tonga, who identified strongly with the Zambezi River, calling themselves “Basilwizi”— the River People — are still living in darkness.
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Binga district coordinator Farai Marinyame said the government initially wanted to relocate 37 out of the 181 households in Nsungulwe village but admitted there was stiff resistance from the communities affected by flash floods.
“We have identified new land near Nsungulwe village, a few kilometres from the area affected by the floods,” Marinyane said.
“However, there is some resistance from the villagers raising quite a number of issues some historical and so forth, but we hope to convince them to relocate to safer lands.”
Elias Sibanda, the Binga District Residents Association coordinator, was not amused, saying the proposed relocation was a sensitive issue for the Tonga people.
He said villagers still felt a deep sense of loss at leaving behind the shrines and graves of their relatives when they were forcibly moved in the 1950s.
“Land is not an issue, but what is the attitude of the villagers? It’s historical; relocation here is very sensitive.
“The majority have never been happy after they were moved from the Zambezi River banks.
“The (Southern Rhodesia) government of the day did not meet its promises,” Sibanda said.
Binga North legislator Prince Ndubeko Sibanda said the Nelson Chamisa-led opposition MDC has made huge contributions buying over 100 bags of cement now awaiting delivery.
“Some more donations are coming and Parliament as an institution is also working on something, a package so that the people get their houses,” he said.
Panos Institute-Southern Africa once produced a report detailing the anguish the Tonga communities on both sides of the Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe still felt after their 1950’s relocation.
As contained in the Panos Oral Testimonies report, older people recall the process of resettlement and its effects on their communities, lifestyles and traditions.
“Giving up their alluvial and fertile lands on the banks of the river has had major repercussions,” reads the report in part.
Sibanda said the villagers affected by the floods were victims of marginalisation and they were bound to view the government initiative with suspicion.
Binga remains one of the poorest districts in the country with limited infrastructure development.
