Commercial farmers face fresh farm grabs in Zim
As the Zanu PF government battles to woo war veterans support ahead of next year's watershed elections, the few remaining white commercial farmers risk losing land, as the Zimbabwean government is contemplating doling out land to the former freedom fighters.
Traditionally regarded as the core of the Zanu PF electoral machinery, the relationship between the former fighters and the government deteriorated following First Lady Grace Mugabe's whirlwind tours around the country, where she ridiculed their role.
Analysts believe the fall-out cost Zanu PF the Norton parliamentary by-election, won by independent candidate Temba Mliswa, and the ruling party now fears it could lose next year's election if the war veterans are not pacified and their allegiance is not bought.
In a notice Wednesday, the welfare services for war veterans, war collaborators, political detainees and restrictees ministry called on the former freedom fighters to submit application letters for land in provinces of their choice.
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"War veterans of the liberation struggle, who have not yet been allocated land, may also submit applications through the provincial field officers, indicating their preferred province," the ministry said in the notice.
"Due to the above circumstances, the veterans of the liberation struggle have pleaded with His Excellency [President Robert Mugabe] to intervene at the highest level to stop the ministry of lands and rural resettlements or any other authorities involved in these dastardly activities from countenancing or approving such dispossessions and displacements.
"It is, therefore, in this light that the ministry of welfare services for war veterans, war collaborators, former political detainees and restrictees calls upon all affected veterans of the liberation struggle to submit the following information (names, copy of offer letter and withdrawal letter and evidence of eviction threats) urgently to our nearest provincial field officers."
War veteran minister Tshinga Dube confirmed the notice originated from his ministry. The new exercise started Wednesday and will run until next Thursday.
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Zimbabwe embarked on a bloody and violent land redistribution exercise at the turn of the millennium, when the Mugabe-led administration fast-tracked the programme, which the civic society and opposition parties claim was a populist move, which left many white farmers homeless, maimed or even killed.
In the past few years, white commercial farmers still operating in the country have been fighting evictions from the land they are occupying by individuals in high offices.
Mugabe's deputy secretary, Ray Ndhukula, has for the past years been embroiled in a battle to take over Centenary Farm in Figtree from David Conolly.
Three years before the land reform exercise of 2000, Mugabe's government doled out Z$50,000 to each war veteran as compensation for their participation in the liberation struggle.
Failure to respect property rights has seen Harare failing to access advances from multilateral institutions around the world, while production at farms has plummeted since the land reform exercise 17 years ago.