daniel chigunwe
Tendai Rupapa
Senior Reporter
ENVIRONMENT and tourism patron, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, yesterday led in the planting of more than 3 000 indigenous and exotic trees in Mashonaland East Province as she fights to provide windbreak and vegetation cover in areas that have become bare and prone to erosion.
The trees, which were planted in Nherekashumba, Muzuva and Chizengeni villages, included Croton and the Quinine tree which is the tree of the year.
The country is losing over 200 000 hectares of forests annually due to deforestation, a situation that poses severe threats to the environment and livelihoods.
In light of this, Amai Mnangagwa is working flat out to ensure that forests are restored to avoid irreversible damage.
The mother of the nation was joined by traditional chiefs, communities, churches, youths and learners in the programme attended by thousands of people.
She also held an interactive session with members of the communities, reinforcing the need for hard honest work and for people to shun drug and substance abuse, which is wreaking havoc, especially among youths across the globe.
Dr Mnangagwa spoke at length against early child marriages, saying children need to focus on their education for a brighter future.
As Agric4She patron, Dr Mnangagwa gave the elderly under Agric4Grandmothers sunflower seed, fertiliser, suckers for German 2 sweet potatoes, vegetable combo seeds, rhizobium, which traps nitrogen and fixes into the soil, chemicals and knapsack sprayers.
They were also given eggs and layers for poultry production.
In her remarks, Amai Mnangagwa said she was delighted with the high turnout and warm welcome she received.
“I am happy with your high turnout and the welcome you accorded me. I am so delighted in my heart. Today I have come to plant trees in this rainy season. I am glad you came out in your numbers so that we work together. I have come so that we teach one another and create awareness on the importance of tree planting. Fruits that sustain livelihoods come from trees. They are also wind breakers and they curb soil erosion. God gave us these forests. We have come to adorn our nation and keep it the way it was created by God so that it sustains us. These trees that we are planting here today, our children at universities will analyse them and see their importance from the leaves to the branches and roots. Some pills that we ingest come from these trees. If we destroy trees, we would have ruined a lot of things. Our children who are growing up need to know the different types of trees. If we cut and don’t replant them, the future generations will not know of them. You risk cutting down the history of our motherland. If we have green forests, even tourists will come. Let’s protect our environment and our heritage. I was in Mashonaland West yesterday (Monday) and they admitted to have been cutting down trees and I taught them the importance of trees,” she said.
The mother of the nation also had words of advice for artisanal miners.
“To my children who are involved in mining, let us follow the law and not leave holes everywhere. You should mine at approved sites because the Ministry of Mines knows safe places, yet some are entering disused mines which then collapse, leading to loss of life and limb. Recently, some had a mine collapse as they were working in Mashonaland Central Province and they are still to be accounted for,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa as Agric4She patron, distributed farming inputs to the elderly and other beneficiaries.
“Today I have also come with Agric4Grandmothers so that I can give them inputs. The inputs are also adequate to cover even those who are not elderly,” she said.
Amai Mnangagwa reinforced the importance of raising morally upright families.
“Madzimai, as you prepare your sadza, talk to God seeking protection over your family; to say ‘God please look after my children or my husband’. Children nowadays are ruined by drugs and we must stand firm as their mothers so that our children grow up morally upright. As communities, are we working with the police? Are we cooperating with the police and reporting those who are selling and consuming drugs? The whole nation is troubled by drug and substance abuse so if you as a father figure or mother figure then start brewing and distributing drugs, you are ruining other people’s children. Let us be dignified as Zimbabwe nationals who follow our cultural norms and values which mould us. Dignity should be present everywhere and never be left home like a coat. Children must value education and think about marriage afterwards. We say no to those who fall pregnant before the time is ripe,” she said.
Mr Lewis Radzire, the operations manager of the Forestry Commission, praised the First Lady for her interventions.
“Our patron for Environment and Tourism, Her Excellency Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, led the nation in planting trees in Mashonaland East. We identified some of the degraded sites where Amai is restoring the area with both indigenous and croton species which then promotes tobacco curing. We are here with the community, all people from all walks of the district and province planted trees to ensure that we restore the degraded sites. One thing that is coming out interesting is since we are planting trees, we have actually identified pockets of muhacha, mukute and all other trees that usually used to be in this area so we want to replenish and restore those degraded areas so this is quite pivotal. The theme for this year is trees and forests for ecosystem restoration for improved livelihoods. So the theme dovetails with the vision of His Excellency of ensuring that we plant as many trees as we can. Apart from that, we are also identifying households. His Excellency two years ago launched the horticulture recovery growth plan in Mangwe in 2022 so we have identified other households that are nearby where we are planting at least 10 fruit trees per household. This will then combine with communal projects, but more importantly, this area is quite bare. I am sure as a country we have witnessed infrastructure being destroyed as a result of harsh winds. So Amai is also promoting shelter belts that will then hold ferocious winds that will destroy roofs of schools and houses. So this programme led by Her Excellency will go a long way in ensuring that our forests are restored. As Forestry Commission working under the guidance of our patron, the First Lady, we want to promote the planting of indigenous trees as well as processing them that is in line as we are ending the National Development Strategy 1 and approaching NDS2. So this is a clarion call to everyone,” he said.
Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Aplonia Munzverengwi paid tribute to the First Lady for her educative and life-transforming programmes.
“We welcome you with happiness for coming here so that we plant trees and adorn the nation. Our mother is seeing that the nation is now bare, especially here where we have planted trees because if ferocious winds and rains come, we will be destroyed. Amai, I urge people in my province and countrywide to protect these trees that would have been planted. We thank you for your love because you are leaving no place and no one behind. This programme you have brought teaches us to plant trees at our homesteads. Focusing on your Agric4She programme, women now appreciate the value of farming and they are doing well with the inputs support that you give them. Were it not for you, these women would have remained aloof, folding their hands. All your programmes are beneficial to us and they are educative,” she said.
Beneficiaries of the programme punched the air with excitement and praised the First Lady for remembering them.
Gogo Euphrasia Goko said: “I was failing to raise income to buy seeds and fertilisers for a portion of my field and Amai has come with these inputs. I am so happy because she is doing well for the whole nation.”
The sentiments dovetailed with those of Gogo Elizabeth Chakanyuka.
“I am indeed gratified by what Amai Mnangagwa has done for us here in Chihota. She has taught us the importance of planting trees so that we enjoy fruits, shade and get windbreak. These teachings are not supposed to be taken for granted,” she said.
Mr Reason Chitsaya praised the First Lady for her intervention and hammering home the need for people to plant trees.
“We thank the First Lady for coming here to teach our community about the importance of planting trees. This area was now bare, with very little vegetation cover, leaving it susceptible to erosion. I was also gratified that she encouraged us to plant fruit trees at our homesteads so that we have access to healthy food. Trees have medicinal properties, so we need to grow them for the benefit of our communities and the nation,” he said.
Putting the catch-them-young concept into practice, the First Lady taught learners the importance of preserving and planting trees.
Susan Mudzimurema, a Form 3 learner, was thankful to the First Lady for teaching them the importance of planting trees.
“The First Lady taught us that we need to preserve forests since they are a habitat for various species. Trees have many benefits.
“I also want to thank our First Lady for visiting our home area and teaching us to focus on our education. I will share with my colleagues at school the valuable information I received from the First Lady,” she said.
In his vote of thanks, Chief Nechombo said: “We are grateful for the work that you are doing in our province and country in terms of correcting, preserving and safeguarding our cultural norms and values Amai.
“You are doing well to end domestic violence. Your educative Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba Programme is instructive. You have done a lot for us and we wish you a long life for helping us plant trees.”
daglous masveta
