White farmers shut out: CFU
By Chengetai Zvauya, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 07 June 2011 15:04
HARARE – The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) says government is refusing to
consider white farmers who have applied for land under the land reform
programme, while the government says the applications will only be
considered once all blacks have been catered for.
CFU vice-president Charles Taffs told the Daily News that close to 4 500
farmers who were evicted since the beginning of the land reform programme in
2000 had complied with a government requirement to apply for land. They have
not received any response, a decade later, Taffs said.
“All of our members who were evicted from their farms applied for leases so
that they can be considered. We started the meetings with the late vice
president Joseph Msika and different ministers of agriculture to be
considered for the leases but we are not getting any favourable response
from them,” said Taffs.
Government in 2006 introduced 99-year leases for land beneficiaries who
wanted to venture into commercial agriculture. Among these were cabinet
ministers, senior government officials and army chiefs who had grabbed
lucrative farms under the chaotic and often violent agrarian reforms.
Only 250 white farmers remain on the land, out of the 4 500 before the
reforms began.
Taffs said CFU members had been trying to engage government as the white
farmers wanted to return to farming and were hoping to be considered since
government has said the land reform programme would benefit all Zimbabweans
irrespective of colour.
“We are still waiting for our leases as we had been promised that we are
going to be considered in the land reform programme and to date no white
commercial farmer has been offered the 99-year lease, ‘’ said Taffs.
Herbert Murerwa, the minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement was not
reachable for comment.
Vice-president John Nkomo, whose office the white farmers have been using to
access the leases, said the farmers would be considered last.
“The CFU has made several approaches to our offices over that issue but the
land reform is irreversible. Every Zimbabwean who has applied for land will
be given so if they have applied we are going to treat them fairly and
consider their applications.
“But they must know that we want to empower our indigenous people first,”
said Nkomo.
Taffs said if the CFU members were given the leases, they were willing to
return to their farms from neighbouring countries like Zambia, Mozambique
and South Africa where some have sought refuge while starting farming
ventures in those countries.