Zimbabwe was once the bread basket of Southern Africa but after the land seizures, food production plummeted. The country now imports basic foodstuffs because of dire shortages of wheat, soya beans and other crops.
Former president Robert Mugabe reportedly owns at least 21 farms, which is against the government’s policy. His wife and children are also said to have benefited from the programme of land seizures. An informal audit by authorities exposed irregularities in the allocation of farms, with children as young as 10 reportedly getting land. A report by ZimOnline in 2010 found that all Zanu-PF's 56 politburo members, 98 members of parliament and 35 elected and unelected senators were allegedly allocated farms, and all 10 provincial governors have seized them, with four being multiple owners. Sixteen supreme court and high court judges also own farms.
The report said: "Of the nearly 200 officers from the rank of major to the lieutenant general in the Zimbabwe national army, 90% have farms in the most fertile parts of the country. This is replicated in the Zimbabwe republic police, Zimbabwe prisons service, air force of Zimbabwe and CIO [Central Intelligence Organisation].
In the past President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that his government is "ready to seize any idle land owned by some of the ruling Zanu-PF party heavyweights". A lot of these farms lie in ruin resulting in tens of thousands of rural labourers out of work and food production that was propping up the economy severely curtailed. Again with Zimbabwean politics, talk is cheap. The rhetoric is encouraging, but we have been waiting to see the practice. Zimbabwe's economic problems will only be resolved through fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability. Paramount to this is how the land ownership problem is resolved. We note with dismay and disappointment that the President was seen making fun of his own government's monetary policy, we can only hope that this apparent lack of care does not translate to other government policies.
A Land Audit seeking to flush out multiple farm owners and correct some of the wrongs from the country’s chaotic fast-track land reform exercise was meant to have concluded in November 2018. In February 2019 the Zimbabwean Government advised that the Land Audit was likely to be concluded end of March 2019. The implementation of the land reforms is probably this generation's final opportunity to right the injustices that have led to the displacement of so many Zimbabweans. It is too important to be left in the hands of Zanu PF alone. Too many lives have been lost both in the struggle for our independence and as a result of the chaotic land reform programme undertaken by the Mugabe regime. Economists estimate that Zimbabwe has lost close to $17 billion in potential earnings since Robert Mugabe's land reform programme launched almost 19 years ago.
We call for Transparency and Accountability in all Land Reform. This has to be overseen by an Independent Body that will carry out its duties conscientiously, fairly and impartially. This body should not be the Zimbabwe Land Commission, whose members are mostly appointed by the President.
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Article by
Justice Melusi Sibanda
