The Popota Tobacco Training College in Choma in Southern province has lost most of its government land to squatters, the move that has threatened the viability of the institution to offer skills in tobacco production.
Authorities said the matter has become very complicated because of delays by government to evict the squatters, who illegally got vast tracts of farmland.
College principal, Francis Makasa, told ZANIS in Choma today that the college was also unable to access its dam which has been completely surrounded by squatters.
He said the encroachment onto the government land has now made the college unable to utilise most of the land for student practicals.
“When we grow tobacco, we have to rotate it in order to achieve sustainability of soil fertility,” he explained. “Now we have no more land as squatters have claimed most of it.”
Mr. Makasa said the institution used to grow tobacco seedlings near the dam but this has become impossible because of the activities of the squatters whose number has tremendously swelled.
He alleged that the same squatters were illegally fishing in the dam which they have taken over.
Mr. Makasa has however implored government to allow a team of experts it appointed to investigate the problem of squatters at the college to go ahead immediately.
According to the report on the evaluation of Popota Tobacco Training College land and squatter problem compiled by the department of field services in the ministry of Agriculture and submitted to the ministry permanent secretary, most of the college land has been occupied illegally by squatters.
“Squatters have since taken over farm 1624 completely and most of farm 1623.The college feels they cannot undertake any meaningful activities or attract investment because of the squatter problem,” the report reads in part.”
The report adds that, “In order to address this problem, the team has come up with the recommendation that all squatters on farm 1623 and 1624 must be evicted unconditionally.”
ZANIS/CM/KSH/ENDS
Smoking kills!!! Most countries in the world are cutting back on Tobacco.Why should we be trainning people in growing a killer? Have never liked squatters, but maybe this will be a way to stop the development of skilled labour in the growth of an extremely harmful crop!
Banene ndakomba ii kaka, ino mwali kuli ciindi conse ici cayinda? Bantu nibakali kwabana nyika mwakaumunide biyo, eno sunu mubejela bantu nkambo kakuti mwakakilwa kulima tombwe!!! Let’s be serious. If the encrotchment was dealt with from the very beginning your College would not claim to have no access to the dam. pa zedi we wait until the problem becomes very big and complicated that is when we talk. Ohhhoo say something different ba Principal taata!!
Buluya!Fwaka is poison grow maize mumamatampa!
It is too late for you principal to talk about encrotchment.Were your eyes blind to see what people were doing at the beginning? Popota college is no loger sounding why can’t you look for a sounding college and be a principal there?
Fiiifwaaakaaaa Panseeeee!
Tobacco farming and training is a very good idea. Though the stuff is harmful to the body, it can earn the country a great deal of foreign currency.
A lot of money can be earned from the tobacco industry which is a plus on our side. Zimbabwe still has the infrastructure to engage in Tobacco farming, let us train our people and give them farms as well as build the necessary infrastructure before the sleeping giant (Zimbabwe) wakes up again.
As for the people who settled illegally, they must use diplomatic methods to evict them. They’ll gain a lot from the college in terms of jobs that the graduates will create. Give the graduates time to train and learn the stuff. Let them learn and…
…they’ll give you jobs. Then you’ll enjoy.
The Ministry of Lands is inefficient. It has failed to issue title deeds to Sikalongo Settlement Scheme since 1999 to date. It has always been promising to re-survey the land through the Livingstone office but to date nothing has been done.It had engaged a greedy and corrupt surveyor from Livingstone late Chibawe who started creating extra plots for his friends and relatives.Similiarly, the Popota issue the govt is aware but very slow to act.Not only that but if you are to inquire among the settlers are those govt employees who actually know the law very well.Some of them are from the office of the PACO or DACO in Choma.How do you sort out the issue if the govt employees are interested party
leave the poor villagers alone . if you evict them wheredo you think they will go? just because you are getting a humble salary does not give a warrant to evict the villagers
if there’s too much idle land …let them use it.why should you have a lion’s share and yet you fail to utilise the land…..
#3.kambilombilo and #5. Anonymous. I agree with your sentiments. Fifwaka fibi!#6 Crazy_Zambian, is it a good or even morally acceptable choice to earn money via a killer?Granted we need to diversify in Zambia, but shouldn’t we be making money via a better option? I say don’t evict the squatters, turn the college into a trainning institue for better farming techniques in say, maize (for the sake of Zambians) or some other cash crops which the west will lap up. Then, evict the squatters!
Please grow alot of tobbacco.Here people smoke like hell.Wemon,men ,boys and girls.Its cool to smoke someone told me.So please produce and sell here and stop being poor.Tu christianity twenu just makes you poorer.China supplies rifles to zimbabwe and tell you what?they are controlling world economy right now.Why do you like begging when you can produce something?molarity,molarity,ukokwine na ba pule benu.
I am more concerned on the attitude/capacity and dysfunctional nature of local authorities in managing land/illegal settlement issues. They have surrended this important funtion to all sort of petty ward and RDC chairmen who have no idea about country and town planning. Small squatter are allowed grow and swell to huge populations/households under their noses almost with tacit approval. Reaction comes too late when the issue becomes political, humanitarian and environmental/health harzard. LOCAL GOVT STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM NEEDS A MASSIVE OVERHAUL. NCC HERE IS A JOB
Baza kulowa Makasa. You are not even a tonga boy.