Old Mutual offered to buy grabbed farms: WikiLeaks
By Taurai Mangudhla, Business Writer
Wednesday, 14 September 2011 11:32
HARARE – Global insurance firm Old Mutual (OM) proposed to arrange a credit
facility for government to purchase up to 400 Zimbabwean commercial farms
that were unlawfully grabbed by Zanu PF in 2000, WikiLeaks has revealed.
According to latest US diplomatic cables, leaked by whistle blower, OM
approached government in 2002 seeking to break a deadlock on the
controversial fast-track land reform, which discredited the country’s rule
of law and rendered the country an unfavourable investment destination.
OM offered to fund the land purchase, with a successive removal of “lawless”
war veterans from the land resettlement picture, in a bid to demonstrate to
the international community that law and order was returning to Zimbabwe.
The cable revealed that Patrick Rooney, then Delta Corporation chief
executive, told former US Ambassador Tom McDonald that OM’s proposal would
allow war veterans occupying farms to be relocated to the purchased
properties.
“Rooney continued that this proposal would soon be put to President (Robert)
Mugabe, but it was unclear to him whether the president would accept it.
“The chief executive said that Vice-President (Joseph) Msika had endorsed
the programme, but believed that Minister of State for Information and
Publicity Jonathan Moyo, Minister for Local Government Ignatius Chombo, and
Minister for Lands, Agriculture and Resettlement Joseph Made could still
scuttle the effort,” McDonald is quoted as saying in the report, adding
that the Commercial Farmer’s Union (CFU) was not involved in the “private”
business proposal.
Rooney also informed McDonald that he and other business leaders were
seeking to appoint an impartial mediator to give a platform for the two
warring parties, MDC and Zanu PF, to work out their differences.
“There is currently a short list of potential mediators, at the top of which
is former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda (who) is a good possibility, but
may be a problem with Mugabe because of his prior confidential support of
Joshua Nkomo,” the report said.
“There are no South Africans on the short list, Rooney continued. The
ambassador told Rooney that the US government welcomes both these
initiatives and encourages all the parties involved to keep the channels of
dialogue open (before he) asked Rooney to keep US apprised of any
developments in these negotiations.”
Meanwhile, commercial farmers have welcomed the proposal saying that it
would unlock Zimbabwe’s economic value. Deon Theron, CFU past president,
said farmers would support OM’s proposal given the potential return to a
stable political and economic environment for agriculture.
“What we have always said is that rule of law should always be followed and
this illegal land grab should be resolved in Zimbabwe and we support such
initiatives whether they are coming from government, an international or
local pressure group,” he said, adding that conflict resolution between
commercial farmers and government was long overdue.
“The sooner we resolve the conflict, the better.”
Charles Taffs, incumbent CFU president, added that the proposed purchase and
reallocation of seized land was critical in remodelling the country’s
investment image.
“The international community has a negative perception on Zimbabwe
especially given the on-going indigenisation exercise. Zimbabwe’s biggest
asset is land and we can maximize value as soon as we get free trade on the
land market, but the problem is that current policy is not allowing this to
happen,’ he said.
Economist Erich Bloch also agreed that the decision to buy illegal settlers
off the farm land could have changed Zimbabwe’s economic fate.
“We could certainly have attracted investment if we had pursued the land
reform on a willing buyer willing seller basis instead of government taking
land that it never paid for.
“The decision to just grab land was a major blow to our investment
credibility,” he said. In the meantime, government –– through Saviour
Kasukuwere’s Indigenisation Ministry –– is pushing for all foreign-owned
firms to immediately relinquish a minimum 51 percent share holding to
Zimbabwean locals.
The initiative is steaming ahead in a typical grab all approach given
government’s lack of funds to legitimately pay for the stakes in the foreign
firms.
Recently, Kasukuwere threatened to suspend licences of all firms that failed
to submit acceptable indigenisation compliance proposals.