The Smith regime now admits that at least 250,000 people have been removed into protected villages. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Musset, told the Association of Rhodesian Industries Congress in June that 145 protected villages had already been constructed, with a further 32 due to be completed in 1977. In addition, 40 consolidated villages had been established. In line with the official view that protected villages constitute potential economic growth points, he revealed that plans were being made to develop "one of the earliest protected villages into a town".
In a report published at the beginning of September, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace stated that there were now 203 protected villages and that an estimated 580,000 people had been compulsorily removed from their homes. Most of the protected villages are in the north-east and south, but others are being established in the north-west. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, at least 400,000 people were living in protected and consolidated villages by February 1977.
A spokesman for the regime's security forces confirmed in April 1977 that protected villages had been set up in three out of four operational areas - Hurricane in the north-east, Thrasher in the east and Repulse in the south, 17,500 residents of the Honde Valley, north of Umtali, reputedly a major route for guerillas entering the country from Mozambique, were removed into 7 protected villages at this time. It was reported in June that 40 protected villages had been completed in Mashonaland Central province, 34 of which had been built between August and November 1976. The bulk of the 115,000 African population of the Kandeya and Chiswite TTLs, plus the Karuyana Purchase Area, north of Mount Darwin, were now behind the wire. In the Lowveld area around Chiredzi, removals began in September 1976. 15 protected villages had been built in the Sangwe and Sengwe TTLs by June 1977.
Reports that guerilla activity has nevertheless forced the regime to suspend its programme for the construction of protected villages in certain areas may explain an item in the Minister of Finance's 1977 budget statement. Mr. David Smith told the Rhodesian House of Assembly on 14 July that the amount allocated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs was down on the previous year as heavy capital expenditure on protected villages was not due to be repeated. The protected villages have been constantly attacked by guerilla groups in what is essentially part of a wide-ranging battle for administrative control of the operational areas. It is evident that in some parts of Zimbabwe, the regime is now unable to determine the course of events in matters such as education, tax collection and stock control.
In a revealing radio broadcast on the establishment of protected villages in the Honde Valley, Mr. Hamish Peters, a District Commissioner, admitted that "up until earlier this year the situation was that the Honde Valley was to a very large extent overrun by terrorists. The entire economy of the valley had virtually collapsed, and we had lost the ability to be able to administer or govern. The terrorist was in a situation where he was carrying out administration of his own type. He was running (? clinics) (word indistinct) of a various nature in the various kraals, all the schools had closed, and constantly members of the security forces were reacting instead of acting to the situation. . . . So we realised that in order to begin to govern again, not only did we have to have population control, but we had to largely utilize our resources to maximum advantage. So. . . starting in March we started to move the people forcibly into the protected villages."
In the Mount Darwin area, the first of eight specially trained "flying squads" - District Assistants from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who can be called upon at any time to go to any part of the country to help restore order after guerilla attacks - was officially passed out in June. In a speech to the 27-man unit, the Secretary of Internal Affairs, Mr. Don Yardley, pointed out that "the administration of the people in the tribal areas is what the war is all about. The terrorists want to achieve control of the tribespeople and we know that we must continue the administration at all costs."
