Farm invaders face arrest
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw
Friday, 24 February 2012 10:25
Tabitha Mutenga, Staff Reporter
THE days are now numbered for hordes of illegal land invaders after the
inclusive government uncharacteristically directed the police to bring to
justice all those who are disrupting agricultural activities in Masvingo and
other parts of the country, The Financial Gazette can exclusively reveal.
There has been an upsurge in illegal farm occupations countrywide ever since
the nation was told to brace for make-or-break elections during the course
of the year with the volatile Masvingo province being the hardest hit.
The farm seizures are also targeting tourist attractions as evidenced by the
foiled take-over bid of a bird sanctuary near Lake Chivero, a few kilometres
outside the capital, by a group of Harare youths.
As the country trudges along towards elections to retire the dysfunctional
unity government, the governing coalition comprising President Robert
Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara is now taking steps to rein in on any wayward behaviour with
potential to cause chaos ahead of the plebiscite, which is likely to be
under intense international spotlight.
After a lot of hesitation, the police have now been given the green light to
arrest all illegal land invaders in order to restore sanity in the farming
sector in the wake of the resurgence of farm occupations.
Last week, police in Masvingo thumped a rag-tag group of war veterans led by
self-styled commander of the land invasions, Francis Zimuto, alias Black
Jesus.
The thumping of the war veterans and the repelling of Harare youths at Lake
Chivero came as a shock to the former liberation war fighters and the youth
militia who were used to having it their way all the time. The farm
invasions, which decimated agriculture, the mainstay of the country’s
economy, first erupted in 2000 when the war veterans poured into commercial
farmland under what they called “The Third Chimurenga”.
Thousands of commercial farms have since been repossessed from white farmers
over the past two decades, rendering scores of farm workers jobless.
But the government has now decided against taking any chances as disruptions
in the farming sector could worsen the food situation at a time when the
country is again facing serious food shortages due to poor rains.
Sophia Tsvakwi, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Rural
Resettlement, told The Financial Gazette this week that all the illegal land
occupiers would be locked behind bars.
However, those who occupied land at the height of the land reforms in 2000
are considered to be legal settlers and therefore protected by the law.
“All illegal land invaders are occupying the land unlawfully because they do
not have the documents to prove they had been settled there. The privilege
is on the lawful land owner to report the invaders to the police. People who
are invading land today are all illegal settlers because they do not have
the supporting documents since we have put a stop to all land invasions,”
she said.
Earlier, Tsvakwi had confirmed this position when she appeared before
members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Agriculture, Water,
Lands and Resettlement last Tuesday.
She also revealed to the Committee that the land policy was being reviewed
to harmonise the four land tenure systems in Zimbabwe.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture this week welcomed the
directive, saying the ball was now in the police’s court to arrest all
illegal land invaders.
“Anyone without an offer letter is an illegal settler and they should be
arrested and, as the Committee, we will be observing the events to ensure
that illegal land occupations are put to a stop by the police,” said Moses
Jiri, the chairperson of the Committee.
National police spokesperson, Wayne Bvudzijena, said the police does not
require a directive to enforce the law; it is their responsibility to apply
the law.
“It does not have to be a directive for the police to observe the law. When
there is lawlessness, the police come in to ensure that order is restored”,
he said.
Only 300 white farmers still own land in Zimbabwe with more than 3 300
of them having been pushed off the farms.
The government has defended the land reforms as important in redressing past
historical imbalances.
While there is the convergence of minds on the criticality of this
programme, differences have emerged over its style, content and approach.
Currently, there are allegations which have not been denied, that a number
of ZANU-PF officials own more than one farm each in contravention of
government policy of one-man-one-farm.
Although the Global Political Agreement clearly states that there must be a
comprehensive, transparent and non-partisan land audit to establish the
exact facts on the ground, there has been reluctance on the part of
government to act on the findings of previous land audits.
A land audit report by Flora Buka conducted in 2003, which was never made
public although it was leaked to the media, revealed multiple farm ownership
by ZANU-PF chefs.
Another audit by a commission led by Charles Utete, a former secretary to
the President and cabinet, also exposed the existence of swathes of
productive land lying idle.