Drought has wiped out almost all the maize in the southern province and badly hit the crop in the north. But Gono also blames those who took over formerly white-owned farms for a broader national food crisis which is expected to leave Zimbabwe with less than half of the maize it needs for this year. Already 1.4m people are dependent on food aid.
Failing crops
In Mandluntsha village, there is no crop at all this year. The headman, Ludidi Ntzombane, an 88-year-old who seeks protection from the relentless sun under a white pith helmet, endured 11 years in Ian Smith's prison for political agitation against white rule. Robert Mugabe jailed him for another four during the 1980s assault on Matabeleland.
None of that has broken Ntzombane's defiance but he knows that the coming year will be difficult. Without food, the village will have to sell its only asset, the precious livestock.
Theoretically, maize donated by the World Food Program is distributed without political favor but in Mandluntsha they have a different experience. A Zimbabwean state organization hands out the food.
“The lorry comes and it doesn't have enough so they say they are giving it to the people with Aids,” said Ntzombane. “But we look at who gets it and we know it is political. They want to punish us for not supporting Mugabe.”
The Zanu-PF party has tried to pressure the headmen and chiefs in the area into backing the party and getting their villagers to vote for it.
“The party is trying to force the chiefs and the headmen to work with the government. They are forcing us to go to meetings where they tell the chiefs and the headmen what to tell the people. They tell us to tell people to back the party or they will have problems,” he said.
“The threats are tied to food. They threaten not to give food to anyone who doesn't support Zanu-PF. That's the pressure; somebody who is not a member of Zanu-PF is regarded as an enemy of the government.”
The headman says that the local Zanu-PF councilor, Thomas Nyilika, arrives periodically to pile on the pressure. Sometimes the party youth militia, the “green bombers,” turn up in an attempt to intimidate the villagers, particularly when there is an election in the offing.
“People here are afraid to say what they think. They are beaten up for criticizing the government. They are not free,” said Ntzombane.
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