For years now, Zanu PF (ZPF) has claimed that the MDC is seeking to reverse the ‘gains’ of the land reform programme. They have used it to scare rural communities into voting for them. Now ZPF has finally acknowledged that the land reform is not working and that they are no ‘gains’ from the land reform.
This past week Dr Herbert Murerwa for the first time let the cat out of the bag by confirming that the government has taken land from ‘new farmers’ and given it back to the former white owner. The reason for doing this was that the black beneficiary of the land reform programme was not using the land. One hopes this will be the norm rather than the exception. There are many farms where there is hardly any production going on so the government should give the land to people who have the capacity to farm. This should not be about black or white farmers but rather the ability to invest in the farm and to make effective use of the land. The ZPF approach was about taking land from white farmers and giving it to black ‘farmers’. The only criteria for taking away land from you was because you were white and the only criteria for giving land to you was because you were black. This is wrong.
I do not think that we should return to the pre-2000 status quo but I think that those farmers who only had one farm especially those who were given a certificate of no contest when they bought their farms after independence should return to their land. The reason why I opposed the pre-2000 land ownership was because it left almost all of the arable land in the hands of the white farmers. It cannot be justified that 1% of the population controlled 90% of the arable land. There was, therefore, need for reform. It would be naive for people to say there was nothing wrong with the land ownership in our country before 2000. I also think that the current situation with regard to land in Zimbabwe is unsustainable. There are reports of senior political and military figures having multiple farms. If the intention of the land reform was to empower the majority of Zimbabweans then it has failed miserably. The President and his wife each own farms while there are millions who do not have land. I do not subscribe to the notion that we should have more farmers. I subscribe to the thinking that instead of dividing up the farms into smaller holdings we should have a farming community that reflects the makeup of the population i.e. the majority of ownership of the estimated 4000 to 5000 farms should come from the majority in the population. I also subscribe to the idea that we should have a one (wo)man one farm policy and that there must be a maximum farm size. The maximum farm size should be determined by those who are qualified to do so. It should not be a political decision.
There is also something wrong with the approach ZPF is taking now. If we are to believe this is the beginning of a new chapter in the ZPF land reform then they are again seeking a quick fix solution. It is almost like Murerwa wants to sort out the mess by bringing back the white farmers. What this ignores is the fact these farms have been vandalised and cannibalised. The infrastructure has been damaged such that those returning to their farms will need help. I am going to state the obvious here. The reason why white farmers have done well over the years is the investment into farming infrastructure and mechanisation by the white minority governments; a system of financial support that helped the settlers to improve their farms. Before the land reform when you bought a farm it was a going concern. Now most of the farms are no longer working. Replacing one owner with another will work where the farm is still intact but where the farm is derelict then government should develop a soft loans system to help the farmers bring the farms back to life. ZPF should not think there is a quick fix to the mess they created in farming.
Anyone who cares to read the MDC policy on land since 1999 will discover that the party has consistently said that the pre-2000 land tenure was unsustainable and needed reform. The MDC were the first to clearly outline their policy on land even before the 2000 Constitutional Referendum. The policy also included plans to support the new farmers until they became established. Their argument with ZPF has always been the manner in which the ‘reform’ was done. ZPF had no plans so the reform was done in a haphazard way.
Finally Murerwa’s statement clearly shows that ZPF accepts the land reform in its current form is not working. All the more reason for having a Land audit in order to know who owns what land and what they are doing with it. What, then, is the way forward for Zimbabwe’s farming? The answer lies in all stakeholders accepting that the current land ownership model is not working. Those who have benefited unfairly from the land reform programme should be forced to give up the land. This land should then be given to people with the financial and technical ability to run a farm regardless of their politics, religion or ethnicity. The government should mobilise financial resources to support those who get the land to help them in their farming. There is also need to give title deeds to the new owners to allow them to use the land as collateral. Having title deeds will encourage people to invest in the farms. Here is hoping that the realisation in ZPF that the land and agrarian reforms have not worked will make the party more amenable to the idea of a land audit.
