Mathonsi landmark judgement: New land paradigm?

HIGH Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi last week made a landmark decision on land ownership in Zimbabwe, especially after the chaotic compulsory acquisition of land from white former commercial farmers and its subsequent redistribution to thousands of landless Zimbabweans since 2000.

Paidamoyo Muzulu

The land redistribution created two new classes of farmers – new black commercial farmers (A2) and peasant or small-scale commercial farmers (A1).

However, the resettlement programme was fluid and mainly hinged on political “correctness” and not the need or capacity to utilise the land.

Others hoarded land for speculative purposes particularly that which lay on the periphery of urban settlements.

While thousands were resettled, many more millions are still landless. It is, however, imperative at this juncture to note that not every Zimbabwean can be a farmer and hence the few who are privileged to get the land should put it to good use for the greater good of the nation.

Justice Mathonsi made the ruling in a case in which Mutare businessman and Zanu PF member Fungai Chaeruka was contesting the withdrawal of his offer letter for non-utilisation of the 498-hectare Mazonwe Farm near the eastern border city.

The farm was re-allocated to Heather Guild, the former white owner of the farm.

Mathonsi in his judgment said government policy on land reform was not recreational, neither was it designed to accord the beneficiaries some pastime, but was meant to benefit those willing and able to utilise land.

Mathonsi ruled: “One cannot be allowed to hold on to large tracts of land they are not using simply to baby-sit an inflated ego. If a beneficiary is not using the land, that is breach of the conditions upon which the land is offered.

“It should, therefore, be withdrawn and given to more deserving candidates. For the applicant to utilise less than a hectare, while leaving the remaining 497 hectares [fallow] was scandalous.”

The ruling spoke to the truth. Chaeruka’s position is not the exception, but the norm on most resettled A2 farms across Zimbabwe.

Stakeholders have for a long time spoken out against the non-utlisation of the land citing declining agriculture production since 2000.

Economic analyst Eric Bloch in January this year wrote in our sister paper Zimbabwe Independent highlighting the danger posed to the whole economy by the declining agriculture production in the last decade and a half.

“Among the many sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy that have declined progressively over the years is agriculture which, until the millennium 12 years ago, was thriving and was the key foundation of the economy,” Bloch opined.

He added that agriculture production in Zimbabwe was varied and among other things included tobacco, maize, wheat and diverse other grains as well as cotton, citrus, sugar and livestock.

Zimbabwe was a net exporter of beef to the region and European Union until early 2000s when it started failing to meet its export quota as the nationals herd depleted without replenishment.

Exactly a decade after the onset of the chaotic land reforms, the Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) in 2010 warned of the declining agriculture production in the country.

The farmers’ union argued that using 2000 as the base year, one could tell the steep downward trend in agriculture production especially crops like tobacco and soya beans which had reached their peak that year.

“The effect of land reform is well illustrated by the steep decline in output since 2001 for commodities produced primarily by commercial farmers,” the CFU said.

Tobacco in 2000 had reached its peak of 210 million kg, a figure that the country has tried to achieve and match without success.
The decline has not been limited to cash crops, but also the staple maize. Zimbabwe has for the greater part of the past 15 years relied on food handouts from the World Food Programme.

In the 2013/2014 season, the United Nations agency projects that some 1,2 million people in Zimbabwe will need food assistance since the country was failing to meet its national food requirements for various reasons.

The reasons vary; among them inadequate inputs such as seed and fertiliser, poor rainfall patterns, vandalised irrigation equipment, inadequate funding and poor planning and management by the majority of the new farmers.

Vandalism and poor management of farms can be seen at the following farms: Arda Kondozi (near Mutare), which was now run down, but used to be the biggest exporter of fresh flowers and vegetables to European Union raking in millions of dollars in foreign currency for the country.

Allan Grange, Hunyani and Gwina, which used to belong to the Nicolle family, are now a pale shadow of their former glory despite having state-of-the-art irrigation infrastructure.

Hunyani Farm now owned by Chinhoyi University of Technology, has a large swathe of land turned into brick-making venture by the Chinese.

The thriving cattle ranches in Chivhu and along Bulawayo Road are now arid land without livestock. Most of the fencing has been vandalised leaving the few animals on the farms prone to being run over by traffic.

The Mathonsi judgment gave compelling reasons and impetus to why the ruling Zanu PF government could not be allowed to procrastinate any longer on a comprehensive land ownership and utilisation audit.

The judgment showed why the party has dragged its feet to implement the audit even when multilateral institutions like the United Nations Development Programme had promised funding for the project.

MDC-T Harare spokesman Obert Gutu said the judgment reaffirmed the government’s rationale in giving people land and this approach should be pursued on all under-utilised farms.

“It is a very sound judgment as it is in harmony with the government thinking in redistributing land to the majority which was to empower. In the same vein, the government has a legitimate expectation to see the resettled persons using their allocated land properly,” Gutu said.

It remains to be seen if Lands minister Douglas Mombeshora will stare the beast in the face and  take the bull by the horns in this thorny issue.