Plunder fears amid ‘wildlife-based reform’
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
August 23, 2012 in Opinion
Herbert Moyo
AS if the chaotic land reform programme of the last decade blamed for
decimating the country’s agricultural sector and the current contentious
indigenisation policy have not ruined the economy enough, Zanu PF has now
added the country’s wildlife conservancies to its national destruction
manual.
Vast tracts of once very productive farmland have been reduced to wasteland
after being parcelled out to mostly high-ranking Zanu PF officials and those
closely connected to the former ruling party, resulting in Zimbabwe facing
year-on-year food deficits.
The country, which used to be a bread basket of the region even though it
experienced shortages sometimes, is now largely relying on countries in the
region, including South Africa, Zambia and Malawi, for food imports.
Displaced farmers, mainly those now in Zambia, are currently feeding the
nation, while donors have been increasingly bailing out the poor since the
land reform programme.
However, Zanu PF has not stopped its scorched earth policies. The party’s
officials and supporters are now grabbing wildlife conservancies in a move
which threatens the country’s flora and fauna in unprecedented ways.
Besides, the ravages on land and wildlife areas, Zanu PF’s discredited
indigenisation policy, deeply divisive in the unity government and widely
viewed as a vote-buying ploy ahead of the next elections, has scared off
potential investors and led to massive capital flight, robbing the country
of much-needed foreign direct investment and inflows to resuscitate an
economy in intensive care since the turn of the millennium.
Foreign-owned mining companies have been forced to cede 51% of their shares
to locals, while banks continue to operate under threat as Zanu PF’s
indigenisation crusade sweeps across the country’s key economic sectors.
London-based policy analyst Clifford Mashiri has described indigenisation in
its present form as “the most harmful, partisan and counter-productive
policy ever adopted in post-Independent Zimbabwe”. Mashiri wrote that
selfish political expediency and greed rather than sound economic principles
are the driving force in the implementation of this controversial policy.
Mashiri said the on-going programme of threatening takeovers of other people’s
businesses, investments, and valuable assets would not help the empowerment
and transformation agenda as it would only lead to further damage to the
economy, with very serious implications for the future of the country still
slowly recovering from recent near implosion.
A fortnight ago Zanu PF heavyweights converged in Masvingo to launch the
party’s latest economic assault dubbed “Wildlife-based land reform”.
At the gathering, National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority
director-general Vitalis Chadenga issued licences to Zanu PF bigwigs for the
Save Conservancy in the province, and chillingly declared the exercise would
shortly expand to the rest of the country.
Chadenga said the exercise was not aimed at expelling incumbent white owners
in a manner similar to the chaotic fast track land reform but they (whites)
were “only being requested to accommodate blacks as partners in the
conservancies”.
However, the list of beneficiaries exposes the programme as a party exercise
as only Zanu PF officials were granted 25-year leases to game parks in the
conservancy.
Masvingo provincial governor Titus Maluleke got the 3 388 hectare Hammond
ranch in Chiredzi district, Higher Education minister Stan Mudenge was given
a lease to the 16 507 hectare Senuko 2 ranch and former Gutu South MP Shuvai
Mahofa the 5 526 hectare Savuli ranch in the same district. Chiredzi North
MP Ronald Ndava got the 11 736 hectare Bedford ranch in Bikita district
while his Chiredzi South counterpart Ailess Baloyi was given the 6 886
hectare Humani ranch in Chiredzi district.
MDC-T Masvingo provincial secretary Tongai Matutu described the granting of
the leases as “a continuation of the land-grab process”.
“Zanu PF realised that in Masvingo there was no more arable land that could
be taken and so they simply moved into the conservancies with their
potential for high earnings,” said Matutu.
“Other provinces have diamonds, chrome, platinum and gold, but here we don’t
have much except for the conservancies. If these are destroyed there will be
nothing left which is why it is important for a non-partisan approach to be
found to manage these resources.”
Apart from concerns over Zanu PF leaders’ propensity for self-enrichment,
there are also fears that the latest developments would have harmful
repercussions on wildlife resources, the environment, ecological systems and
tourism, not to mention Zimbabwe’s already battered image.
Mindful of the disastrous land reform, Chadenga pleaded for co-operation
between black and white farmers saying government had initially balked at
compulsory acquisition of conservancies after realising their importance.
“They (whites) are also Zimbabweans and have the necessary skills in the
conservancy business,” said Chadenga.
However, his sentiments were contradicted by a belligerent Maluleke who
described the granting of the leases as a “red letter day” for the province
in the prosecution of wildlife-based land reform. Maluleke accused white
farmers of stalling implementation of the programme for the past five years
because “they did not want to work with their black counterparts who had
been issued 25-year leases by Environment minister Francis Nhema”.
“They (white farmers) have been doing everything possible to resist new
farmers and harvesting wildlife illegally but now a new era is beginning
that will see the latter get on with the job they have been assigned,”
Maluleke said.
Vice-chairman of the Save Valley Conservancy Wilfried Pabst has described
the granting of hunting permits as “highly illegal and criminal”.
Even the usually diplomatic EU ambassador Aldo Dell’Ariccia condemned the
programme as “totally unexpected from a country that is preparing to host
such an important function connected with tourism in addition to having
bilateral agreements enjoining it to protect investments of EU nationals”.
Zimbabwe will co-host the United Nations World Tourism Organisation general
assembly with Zambia in August 2012.
“While we respect Zimbabwe’s sovereignty, it is clear they have violated
their bilateral agreements with EU member states and this week I will be
engaging ministers Nhema and (Tourism and Hospitality minister Walter)
Mzembi because these actions are a danger to property rights and tourism,”
said Dell’Ariccia.
With the high levels of unemployment in the country estimated at above 85%,
indigenisation seem to be increasingly a problem rather than part of the
solution and given the current seizure of conservancies it appears we have
not seen the last of Zanu PF’s campaign of plunder.