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Zanu-PF President and First Secretary Cde Mugabe addresses the revolutionary party’s supporters in Masvingo yesterday

Tichaona Zindoga and George Maponga in MASVINGO
President Mugabe yesterday lashed out lazy beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme, including traditional leaders, who were leasing out farms to white former commercial farmers, saying this had to stop.

Addressing thousands of people at the Mucheke Stadium Open Arena during the Masvingo leg of the nationwide zanu-pf Youth League Presidential Youth Interface Rallies, President Mugabe expressed dismay that there were people who expected to profit from land without investing anything, while enjoying life in the city.

This comes amid reports that some beneficiaries of land reform were subletting their farms to make easy money.

President Mugabe urged indigenous farmers to instead hire skilled young black professionals to manage their farms and consolidate the gains of the agrarian reform.

“Kune maA2 farmers vatinavo, vamwe vemapurazi varikubvuma kuti varungu vatakatorera vadzoka vati tinoda kukurimirai iwe urikunana Harare, Bulawayo, kuno kuMasvingo. Gara zvako purazi rako tinokurimira, wobvuma! Ndozvatakakupira purazi izvozvo; zvekuti urimirwe wakagumbata zvako uri muHarare uchirara zvako? Izvozvo unenge uchiti uri kuiteiko? Kubvuma kuti murungu akurimire? Hausi kuona here kuti urikudzosera murungu uyu paakabva paakatandwa? Uri kumusimbaradza futi kumupa masimba.”

He said the practice was rampant with traditional leaders also being guilty of leasing land.

“Izvi hazvisi kuitwa nemunhu mumwe chete, zvakuitwa nevanhu vakawanda nemadzishe eduwo akuzviitawo. Saka ndoda kuti ngazviregerwe. Stopi it!

“Madzishe, madzishe, madzishe hongu mune nzvimbo dzekurima takakupai mafarm but hatina kukupirai kuti muzodana varungu. Ko maregerei kudana zvenyu vana vedu vatema? Inga tine vakawanda vatadzidzisa kurima? Zvingatove nani!

“Kuti tinzwe kuti madzishe edu ari kurimirwa nevarungu, aaah, Ishe weZimbabwe, worimirwa nana Venter? Hukama hwacho hwava hwei ipapo pana Ishe wedu? Anokuombera achiti chii murungu uyu? Kana mutupo wako haauzive. Iwe ndiwe unototi ‘Baas’. Ishe oti, ‘Baas’ Aiwa regai izvozvo. Rimai, kana musingagone kurima kana kutsvaga vana venyu kana vanhu venyu vanokwanisa kukurimirai, don’t, please, surrender back the land that we have given you.”

President Mugabe also condemned individuals pushing to grab Lowveld sugar producer Tongaat Hullet’s cane plantations instead of seeking the company’s support to develop virgin land into cane plots.

He said it was wrong for people to seek to reap where they did not sow.

President Mugabe said: “Uri kuno kunze woti, ah, ngatipihwe pakarimwa pakukohwewa sugar. Munofunga kuti zvakarurama here? Imi makangogumbata kunoku moti ngaatipe chete ma-acres ane sugar yaakarima.Hazvitendeseke.

“Ndosaka akange (Tongaat Hullet) acomplainer achienda ku South Africa kune midzi yake kuti, ah,handichazvinzwa ndakunzi ndipime ndima dzine sugar yangu ndichipa vamwe?

“Isu hatina kumbofunga kuti zvingaitike uye hatina kumboti ndizvo zvatinoda. Zvatinoda ndezvekuti unopihwa nzvimbo isati yarimwa kana achida anokurimirai zvakanaka asi uriwe unoshanda ipapo kwete kuti ushandirwe ipapo ugere zvako. Ugonzi uri murimi papi weshuga pakushandirwa?”

Tongaat came under siege last year as politicians from the province attempted to force the sugar producer to cede some of its cane fields to landless people.

President Mugabe convened two meetings with the ruling party provincial leadership and all Zanu-PF MPs in Masvingo together with Chiredzi traditional leaders in an attempt resolve the impasse over Tongaat cane plantations.