The Chinese Bhuddist monks vehemently objected to Grace's alleged abuse of aid funds to transform the project into a luxury lodge and for-profit commercial farm instead of a modest orphanage.

The alleged abuse of funds and changes to the original construction plan are said to have thrown the project several years behind schedule.

“I can confirm that we are no longer working with Mrs Mugabe at Iron Mask Farm,” Li Wang, one of the volunteers still in Zimbabwe told The Zimbabwean this week.

“Our agreement with her was that we would build simple houses to take care of children living on the streets. That was all changed and they have now built luxury lodges for VIPs to enjoy themselves at weekends. Mrs Mugabe also seems to be more interested in farming.”

In one of the publicity documents for the orphanage seen by this newspaper, Grace confirmed breaking ranks with the Bhuddist monks but claimed that this was because the monks wanted “something very modest” and were “impatient with the slow and meticulous progress” being made.

Hasty adoption

Under pressure from the Chinese government, which has been bankrolling the project for nearly 10 years, Grace hastily 'adopted' 15 infants from Harare Hospital in suspicious circumstances and launched the orphanage at a lavish ceremony officiated by her mother on July 13.

The so-called adoption has raised eyebrows as no formal procedures were followed. Grace herself claimed at the launch that the children had all mysteriously been abandoned by their mothers at birth. Enquiries by this newspaper at the Department of Social Welfare, which processes applications for adoption of children, showed that Grace had not lodged any application and had not been interviewed by a social welfare officer as required by the law.

The country's adoption laws state that for anyone to adopt strangers, they must be vetted by welfare officers, who may require financial records of applicants and are supposed to inspect the home where the children will be accommodated.

Mothers disappeared Officials at Harare Hospital refused to discuss how they handed over the 15 infants to Grace without government authorisation. They also failed to explain how the mothers of the children had suddenly disappeared after giving birth.

Apparently, none of the cases of abandonment was reported to the police and there is no record of efforts being made to track down the mothers using the addresses they gave when they were admitted into the hospital to give birth.

A nurse suggested that the children might have been left by women who failed to pay hospital fees and could not walk away with the children. Adoption of young undocumented children is sensitive as there are thriving rackets involving the sale of stolen children, especially by Chinese who sell the children to Europe for about 4 500 euros each.

An incognito visit to the farm by this reporter last week showed luxury houses at various stages of construction. In all, there were 30 houses, eleven of which had been completed. The completed houses have five bedrooms each, with en suite bathrooms and expensive furniture and facilities only rivalled by those found in five star hotels.

Nestling in the shadow of the Mbuya Nehanda mountain, which locals claim is sacred as it is always raining in the area, Iron Mask farm was seized violently and without compensation by Grace in 2003. It is on the other side of the mountain from Foyle farm, also seized violently by the Mugabes and renamed Gushungo Dairy Estate.

Security in the area is very tight. Workers and locals claimed that people who criticize Grace's plans are known to 'disappear' in the Mbuya Nehanda mountain.

Maize production

Publicity documents at the farm show that Grace intends to use only 50 hectares for taking care of children and 1 200 hectares for commercial farming. Officials at the Grain Marketing Board confirmed that Iron Mask farm provides the largest deliveries of maize in the whole of Mashonaland Central province.

Official plan documents show that Grace intends to build schools, a hospital and university at the farm. Mugabe and his wife are blamed for the national crisis that spawned orphans and street children, problems which they now purport to want to solve.

Mugabe drew an angry reaction from children's rights groups recently when he claimed to be unaware of the violence, sexual abuse, hunger and general suffering of children on the streets.

By The Zimbabwean