accumulation by land dispossession and labor ... - Land Portal

without discrimination.‘ Then the villagers and their Village Council, he asserted, gave
the Witamasiva area to the company and he mention the names of six members who were
selected to go and show the investor that area. The VEO continued by asserting that the
Village Council and Village Assembly minutes cited above as dated 11 April 2008 and
this delegation confirm that the area of was given to the investor ‗kihalali‘, that is,
‗lawfully.‘ But he quickly offered a disclaimer that the only area given out was not more
than Witamasiva. Moreover, he noted that although the village gave that area the Village
Council had realized a number of shortcomings which affirmed ‗uhalali‘, that is, the
‗validity‘, of the villagers‘ claims. He thus validated them:
(i) Eneo lililotolewa halikupimwa kuwa ni ekari ngapi kulinganisha na fidia
iliyotolewa [The given area was not surveyed to determine the acreage in
comparison to the compensation offered ]
(ii) Siku ya kuweka mawe ya mipaka wananchi wenyeji wa WITAMASIVA
hawakushirikishwa wanaoyafahamu vizuri maeneo hayo [On the day of putting
the beacons the villagers residing in WITAMASIVA and who knows the areas
very well were not involved]
(iii) NEW FOREST kwa kutokuwa na Ushirikishwaji wa wenyeji waliweka mawe
kusikohusika [By not involving the residents NEW FORESTS COMPANY put
beacons in places that they are ought not to be]
In order to rectify these shortcomings the Village Council offered the following
recommendations: (1) To survey the area to determine its acreage; (2) To consult lawyers
about the lawful rate of compensation for one acre with the aim of comparing it with the
compensation offered; (3) Nothing should be done in the area until (1) and (2) are
completed. It thus decided to form a ‗commission‘ of 7 people to ‗survey‘ the area. It also
decided to present the issue to the Village Assembly. This public meeting was attended
by ―300‖ villagers. The minutes, dated 17 January 2010, contains this strong statement
against the acquisition of their land for investments:
Wananchi kwa kauli moja, wamekataa kulitoa eneo hilo kwa mwekezaji huyo na hata
kwa mwingine; kwa madai kuwa kulingana na ongezeko la wananchi kijijini na kwamba
kijiji cha KIDABAGA hakina eneo jingine zaidi ya WITAMASIVA lililomo katika
kitongoji cha IKELAMO, hivyo pamoja na kauli hiyo wamemuomba MKURUGENZI
MTENDAJI WA WILAYA YA KILOLO amsimamishe mwekezaji huyo ili asiendelee
na zoezi la kupanda miti wakati hatua zingine za kuyafidia maeneo aliyokwishafyeka
zikiendelea. Wanaiomba Serikali ya Kijiji ifanye haraka kutoa taarifa hii kwa
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