|
|
|
|
| Features |
| Politics of relocation in Lower Shire |
|
by
Jacob Jimu, 31 January 2007
-
13:04:57
|
Paramount Chief Lundu of Chikwawa is one person who likes to speak his mind. If he thinks you are a fool, he will say so in your face.
For starters, read this: “I don’t fear the DC or Illovo.”
Or, turn to this: “If Illovo wants to be here, the company should listen to and abide by what we say.”
The issue?
Well, what else can it be other than land?
His grievance? That District Commissioner for Chikwawa Henderson Lende is conniving with Illovo to relocate people in the chief’s area so that the company buys the land to open sugar cane fields.
Now, his declaration: “As long as I live, nobody will move us from this area.”
So, those planning to relocate the people under Lundu to safer places in the face of floods in the area had better brace up for a good helping of tongue lashing—or worse—from the chief because he says he would rather drop dead than leave the land he has occupied for ages.
Lundu’s stand on the issue has been an ever-present ghost haunting efforts by government to move people in flood-prone areas to upland and safer places where they would be spared the wrath of the turbulent rivers.
The chief unleashed the verbal assault on Lende and Illovo last week at Tomali Primary School in his area when the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) launched a tree planting programme in the area.
Lundu’s opinion is that Illovo is responsible for the floods in the area and that, therefore, what is important is for the company to reform its ways rather than moving people to other places.
According to the chief, the dykes which the sugar company built to prevent river water from flooding its cane fields are agents of the Devil as they tamper with the natural flow of the water and divert it into people’s homes and gardens.
Lundu also believes that Illovo has been carelessly felling trees in the area, a situation, he said, has exposed the land to the fury of the elements.
But perhaps, in his drive to express his point as emphatically as possible, the chief might have unwittingly given the game away.
These were the contents of his heart: “If I move from this area, will I still be called Lundu?”
Was it an innocent statement? Maybe it was, but the words might have given some people the feeling that the fear of losing power and authority is at the heart of Lundu’s opposition to the relocation programme.
Many chiefs in the Lower Shire might share this line of thinking.
One of Lundu’s subjects, who opted for anonymity, believes that the chief and many others in the area fear the unknown in the event that they relocate.
He said he and his family are ready to leave the area if their new home has adequate amenities like schools and health facilities.
“I think the problem with chiefs like Lundu is that they fear losing their authority because they might go to an area where they will be under somebody. My opinion is that Illovo is not responsible for floods in the area because even those places that are far away from the dykes are prone to the problem,” he said.
Pearson Ntata, a sociologist at Chancellor College, carried out a study in 1997 on the dynamics influencing the issue of relocation in the Lower Shire.
Ntata, who conducted extensive interviews with T/A Nyachikadza of Chikwawa and some of his subjects, said people cited the fertile soils in the area as a magnet that glues them to the land.
Nyachikadza, an island on the Shire River, receives rich soils eroded from upstream, said the sociologist. Because of the fertile soils, people on the island grow crops without applying fertiliser.
“They said that they grow a lot of crops like tomatoes and potatoes throughout the year and sell them to upland areas,” he said.
According to Ntata, fishing is another issue making people in the area reluctant to move to another area as there are mouthwatering opportunities on the island to catch fish.
The study also revealed that people are reluctant to leave the land they regard as theirs, their homeland, the place they have identified with since time immemorial. The sentimental attachment they have to the land is so strong that starting a new life elsewhere is an unacceptable proposition to them.
Added Ntata: “They asked, ‘do you want us to abandon our graves and go to another place?’”
But like Lundu’s subject, Ntata said the main reason hampering the programme in the Lower Shire is the feeling among those who wield power that they will no longer exert influence on their people if they leave their land.
“You will see that chiefs are in the forefront opposing the idea. They fear that if they leave they will be under the influence of another chief. They look at this as something that they can’t accept,” he said.
Ntata said for the initiative to succeed, government should assure chiefs that wherever they go, they will retain their status as leaders. This, he said, would motivate those opposing the idea on account of fear for the unknown to soften up.
“If government is serious about helping these people, this is the first issue they must address. Establishing a new Traditional Authority in an area where these people are being moved might encourage them to relocate because they will retain their power,” he said.
Disaster management desk officer for the Chikwawa District Assembly Brighton Macheka said in a telephone interview this week that the issue of power is at the centre of the opposition to relocation.
“Chiefs fear that they will lose their authority if they move. However, we assure them that nothing will change in terms of their power even if they move with 20 people,” he said.
Macheka said so far, progress on the programme has not been encouraging as the assembly, which is running the process in conjunction with the Department of Disaster Preparedness, is encountering a lot of resistance from some people.
He said apart from the issue of authority, some people are not comfortable to part ways with the land they have lived on all their lives.
“Some people are saying ‘if we move, where do we go because every piece of land belongs to somebody?’ They are worried about where they will live and grow their crops. They are also worried about the prospect of leaving their graves and other things that tie them to the land. In other words, this is the fear for the unknown,” he said.
Macheka disclosed that two villages in the district have relocated this year. He said Mtumbosola 1 in T/A Katunga and Sande 2 in Sub-T/A Ndakwera are the only villages that have moved to higher grounds in 2007.
“Before moving the people we consider proximity to facilities like schools and hospitals. However, for people that move to areas which are very far from these facilities, we observe them for sometime before giving them the amenities. We can’t rush to build schools or hospitals because some people may relocate just because they want to access relief items and return to their original homes later,” he said.
As a long term solution to the problem of floods in his area, Lundu proposes the construction of drains along the problematic rivers like Mwanza and Madziabango. These drains, said Lundu, would absorb the water and prevent it from flooding the land around.
But even as he said this, the paramount chief was quick to put to the sword any idea of moving somewhere.
“This is my home and I will die here,” he said.
The message is clear. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
