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Timber industry under threat

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THE illegal settlements on timber plantations continue unabated and now threaten the country’s production level.
The illegal settlements are impacting negatively on the country’s timber industry whose contribution towards the growth of the economy has declined.
The challenge if not addressed will result in the country becoming, in the short-term, an importer of timber from neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi.
The exotic timber industry has historically been the mainstay of economic activity and the biggest employer directly and indirectly in Manicaland and other parts of the country.
At its peak, Zimbabwe’s forestry sector directly employed 14 445 people and over 40 000 indirectly in downstream industries contributing three percent to the GDP (FAO, 1999).
Currently the sector contributes less than 1,5 percent to the GDP and employs close to 3 553 permanent employees at Allied Timbers Holdings Zimbabwe and 1 465 fixed contract workers.
Statistics show that the area under exotic forestry has declined from 120 182 hectares in 2000 to 82 352 hectares in 2013 with fifty eight percent of this land being state land while the rest is made up of private estates.
An average of 4 565 hectares of new trees is planted every year to replenish the consumed timber while the current harvest stands at 2 165 hectares a year, according to the Timber Producers Association, 2014.
In addition to the challenges of illegal settlements, the industry has suffered from lack of competitiveness on the international market as a result of high production costs, loss of forested areas due to bad environmental practices and fires.
High statutory costs and penalties from the various statutory bodies, cheap imports and a decline in demand due to low disposable income has not helped.
As a result of these challenges some companies have closed operations while the remaining ones are operating below capacity utilisation.
Figures from Allied Timbers show that the illegal settlements on timber plantations have increased significantly over the years.
In Martin Estate in Chimanimani, 194 families have illegally settled on 729 hectares which they are now using for agriculture and grazing.
The same activities are occurring in Gwendingwe Estate, Chimanimani where 432 families have settled on 949 hectares while at Cashel Estate, Chimanimani, 273 families are illegally settled on 541 hectares.
At Chisengu and Tarka Estates, Chimanimani, there is gold panning and 13 families have settled on 13 hectares with their activities causing the siltation of Chisengu River.
In Maswera Estate, Penhalonga, 200 families are illegally settled on 1 250 hectares while in Saligna Mabonda area, 403 hectares of land has been illegally settled by 180 families.
While these families claim to have A1 and A2 offer letters from the District and Provincial Lands Offices, the Ministry of Lands and Rural Settlement says the settlements are illegal.
In a letter dated August 19 2014 and signed by the Permanent Secretary Sophia Tsvakwi she said the people who have resettled themselves on timber plantations must be removed by the Provincial squatter control committee under the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Manicaland.
The letter by the Minister of Lands Douglas Mombeshora dated August 19 2014 also affirms the position and spells out the negative impact of how the illegal settlements have on the water catchment areas, vleis, wetlands and ecosystem if allowed to continue.
The Patriot carried out a survey at Mabonda Farm, which is part of the Saligna area and some of the settlers produced documents which they claim give them the right to live in the plantations.
The crops they grow annually on the sloppy gradients do not yield much as the heavy rains wash them away.
While they admit that the places are not conducive for agriculture, to them this is now home and they have vowed to continue living in the plantations.

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