The Zimbabwe government says it has repossessed some 400 farms covering at least 200,000 hectares from blacks who had taken up more than one farm under the country’s controversial land reform programme. President Robert Mugabe in July ordered top officials in his ruling party to relinquish excess farms if they had acquired more than one under the land reforms, under which land was taken from whites and given to blacks. The recovered land will be distributed to people on the waiting list for land, Minister of Special Affairs John Nkomo told the official Herald newspaper.
| ...which is about the only one left in Zim. |
"We have made significant progress and the land recovered from people out of favor with Bob would now be available for distribution to people better at sucking up to Bob deserving people." Mugabe’s government, which launched a fast-track programme of acquiring white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to landless blacks in 2000, had been widely criticised for allowing the ruling party’s top hierarchy to grab prime farms. Mugabe appointed a Land Review Committee earlier this year to probe, among other issues (such as who is loyal only to Bob and who is just looking to score some free land), multiple farm ownership. The land "reforms" have been partly blamed for a massive slump in the country’s agricultural production over the past two years.
"What part?"
"98 percent." |
The government had initially indicated that it wanted to acquire 11 million hectares or 30% of Zimbabwe’s land, from about 4,500 white farmers, but now says that was just for starters the minimum hectarage it had targeted. A recent audit by a government-appointed team said the amount of land owned by white farmers was down to roughly 1.2 million hectares on 1,377 farms. Whites used to own a third of the land - about 70% of the prime farmland. Some dispossessed white farmers have settled in neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana.
| Which the Gods have avoided afflicting with draught lately... |
Meanwhile Zambia’s agriculture minister has hailed white farmers who crossed the border into Zambia to restart farming operations after being evicted in Zimbabwe. "Zimbabwean farmers who have settled in Zambia are experts, they have only benefited our country," said Zambia’s agriculture minister Mundia Sikatana.
| "Mmmm! This barbecue sure is good! Too bad they don't have barbecue like this in Zim anymore! Yep. Sure do like livin' in Zam now!" |
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