25,000 displaced in Marange

The villagers have accused the government of unlawfully uprooting them from their homes. The military operation was intended to establish control over the diamond fields as well as to provide village-based housing for troops. The plan was temporarily delayed due to the discovery of gold ore in the region where the villagers were initially scheduled to be relocated at an ARDA farm.
The people’s concerns were tabled in Parliament this week by MDC-T MP Evelyn Masaiti, who said the evictions did not take into consideration the issue of structural development. She expressed fear that this was a repeat of Operation Murambatsvina.
Housing Minister, Giles Mutsekwa, said: “I have not been made aware of what is taking place there, yet it is my ministry which should be directly responsible for what is happening.
Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo was not immediately available for comment. The Mutare-based diamond watchdog, the Centre for Research and Development, says the forced relocations did not comply to the UN habitat minimum standards for relocation. Some of the families have been moved from Chiadzwa to ARDA Transau and paid compensation of $1,000 per household. But the thousands involved in the latest relocation have received nothing.
The military has designated the Chiadzwa area a “government reserve area” and been authorized to displace all the local residents in and around the diamond fields, a military source said. People have been evicted from an area encompassing several hundred square kilometers, which is well in excess of the 70 hectare site currently being hand-panned. The area they have been relocated to has been described as “just rough bush.”