Zimbabwe: The land issue revisited
03 MAY 2013 00:00 – INYASHA CHIVARA
Zim is reconsidering compensating white commercial farmers whose farms were
seized during the chaotic 2000 land reform process, the M&G has learnt.
The issue of the over 4 500 farms seized without compensation is turning out
to be a pertinent matter in Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts with Western
countries after a 12-year political standoff.
Diplomatic sources with knowledge of two meetings held in Harare between
Mugabe and two senior United States officials in recent week’s stated that
Mugabe had said Zimbabwe was willing to reopen talks about compensation but
money promised by the British and Americans in 1979 was critical to any
settlement.
In recent weeks, Harare has hosted two prominent American black civil-rights
leaders, Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson. The sources said the men, who both
held closed-door meetings with Mugabe, discussed land and other issues.
Young, a former American ambassador to the United Nations, was in the
country two weeks ago as a special envoy of the US state department. During
a discussion hosted by a local political and economic institute, the Sapes
Trust, Young spoke of the need to “find ways of re-engaging with Zimbabwe”.
Negotiations
Ibbo Mandaza, an academic and director of the Sapes Trust, hinted that there
were ongoing negotiations about compensation for white farmers. Mandaza said
the issue of compensation was “very much alive” and that they “are engaged
in these efforts to see to it some of these issues are addressed and
resolved”.
Mandaza, who was one of the negotiators during the 1979 Lancaster House
negotiations that helped to broker a land-reform compensation deal, said the
US had pledged $750-million at the time and the British government
$1-billion, to be paid in tranches over 10 years.
“The commitment was never put on paper but it’s contained in the minutes of
the negotiations. It was taken for granted that they will pay but this was
never followed up after independence. Takavarairwa [we relaxed],” he said.
Young said his greatest concern was why Britain and the US government
“reneged on funding the land issue. When nothing was done, Zimbabwe did what
it could under the circumstances”, but there was still an opportunity to
“forgive each other”.
The president of the Commercial Farmers’ Union, Charles Taffs, also
confirmed that negotiations were under way about compensation. He said his
organisation was currently engaged in talks with the government and Western
capitals over compensation issues for former farmers.
“We have been in touch with everyone and we want to see all the disputes
resolved because [they] keep this conflict going on forever,” Taffs said.
“If the British government and the American government pledged to pay
compensations for land reforms, surely they should honour their
obligations,” he said.
“The country needs to move forward, we can’t keep wasting time. The country
has been held back for too long.”
Taffs estimated that the compensation figure would now be about $6-billion,
up from $1.75-billion taking into consideration interest accrued over the
years.
Jesse Jackson meets Mugabe
This week Jackson held a two-hour meeting with Mugabe. After the meeting,
Jackson spoke of the need to remove sanctions and emphasised that the land
issue was a source of tension. “Some focus on land was not honoured and
[this has] been a source of struggle,” he said.
The American embassy in Harare did not respond to questions from the M&G and
the Zanu-PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo could not be reached by the time of
going to press.
Jameson Timba, the secretary for international relations of the Movement for
Democratic Change, said, although Young’s visit was “critical in Zimbabwe’s
re-engagement efforts” and compensation was a necessity, there was also a
need to “address the current challenges that the country is facing.
“We need to deal with the issue of security of tenure, productivity and
multiple farm ownership,” Timba said.