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The Herald, 31 July 1980

THE 22 protected villages in Chiweshe tribal trust land east of Umvukwes are ghost towns.

Gone are the security fences and strong-points, and gone are the villagers-back to their former lands.

But some of these ghost towns have an important advantage over most of Zimbabwe’s protected villages which the Government, with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, is dismantling.

For the electricity supply laid on from Bindura — a legacy from the war when the perimeters of the villages were floodlit — still remains, and district administration officials are confident that this will enable a number of growth points to be established in the TTL.

The district commissioner for the area, Mr GL Millar, feels that if the growth points — the basis for industrial development and expanding job opportunities — is to succeed in Zimbabwe’s rural areas, Chiweshe stands a better chance than most.

Mr Millar said the large Wengweni Dam could provide irrigation and this with electrification and the proximity of Glendale rail link, gave Chiweshe an infrastructure unknown in most other TTLs.

Chiweshe’s roads were better than those in other districts, and all these factors combined to offer the very real possibility of transforming the TTL into a “showpiece” of regional development.

The area, according to Mr Millar, had a “fairly sophisticated” level of cotton production before the war, and the introduction of PVs resulted in a 50 percent drop in output.

This year, he expected a “big increase” in arable land availability. Already, officials from the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development have documented the needs of the area’s displaced farmers.

They will be given vegetable and crop seed packs, fertiliser and implements, enabling them to start replenishing their lands in time for the rainy season.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Protected villages, commonly referred to as “keeps” during the protracted liberation struggle were the most cruel method used to contain the war. Every province must have a model “keep” that will educate future generations about the ugliness of war.

All protected villages after the war were left with infrastructure that remained intact, which communities were supposed to take advantage of. In some, there was electricity and tap water.

  The euphoria of Independence led to vandalism of some of the infrastructure as people identified them with the colonial Government.

The idea of growth points was a noble idea, but in Chiweshe and other districts it did not yield the desired results. Industrial development is still a pipe dream.

With devolution taking shape now, it is hoped that growth points will receive due attention, be upgraded and that they turn become business hubs. This will transform of them into town centres.