Lands secretary quizzed over Manicaland farm invasions

SECRETARY for Lands and Agriculture Ringson Chitsiko was yesterday taken to task in Parliament over a spate of fresh farm invasions, including the one in which Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Ellen Gwaradzimba’s son attempted to grab a Chipinge coffee plantation owned by a retired Swiss banker, Richard Le Vieux.

Chitsiko was grilled after he appeared before the Lands Parliamentary Portfolio Committee where MPs wanted to know why Gwaradzimba’s son Rememberance Mbudzana occupied Le Vieux’s farm, which exports coffee, avocados and macadamia nuts, bringing in the much-needed foreign currency.

Confirming that indeed Mbudzana was indeed allocated Plot 1 of Farfell Coffee Estates, Chitsiko said: “What happens is that an offer letter might be given to an individual, but in due course, it is realised that, in fact, such offer letter should not have been given.

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