Speaking at a Climatic Change workshops organised by the Zimbabwe Women Bureau, Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre and ZERO at Mutiusinazita High School, people said those caught cutting trees had gone scot free after paying bribes of chickens and goats.
One villager, identified only as Chidoma, said: “If you move around the villages you will see stacks of newly cut trees for firewood.”
Another villager, Chipo Chingono, said community leaders should be transparent in the way they go about fining offenders.
The head of ward 27, Mushuwa Honye Mutuwa, refuted the allegations, saying: “We have fined villagers, but most of the time offenders commit the same crime because the fines are not deterrent enough. Most villagers are prefer to pay a fowl and continue cutting down trees for firewood. When others see this they quickly accuse us of being corrupt.”
Chief Muzokomba said the issue of fines for offenders has been misunderstood by many villagers. The said chiefs have put respectable fines only as a restraining measure because many villagers are poor and cannot afford heavy fines.
“It not the chief only who decides what should be done to offenders. There is the police, the village heads and the office of Environment Management Agency who are also involved,” he said.
The workshop also highlighted the problem caused by widespread cutting of thistle bushes to use as garden fences, thus destroying valuable goat fodder.
“Livestock have turned to trees for fodder, and these same trees are being randomly being cut down,” said Agriculture Extension Officer Petronella Matizanadzo.
Post published in: News
it is true village head called Sabhukus are on top of such a situation near my village called Kahari in Goromonzi constituency there is a book called Muchenje Squater line exists where people were charged to get a small piece of land but the sabhuku has never been warned of such a doing the other one is Jemera chirima he has reached a level whereby he wants to remove people in a co-operative called Chimbiti irrigation saying its in his teretory because he has intention to sale land because some of these headman abuse thier powers something needs to be done from DA Offices to get into villages and try to find out such corrupt activities .To tell the truth most sabhukus inherited from their fathers they do not know correct demacations of their community land but because of powers they have there are taking advantages. We are all Zimbabweans let us do not overpower others because of powers we have.What we know these people must protect the community not abusing people they lead.