Farm invasions continue, 2 years since signing GPA
By Alex Bell
15 September 2010
It has been two years since the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was signed
to usher in much needed change in Zimbabwe, but farm invasions are still
continuing.
Wednesday marked two years since the agreement was signed by the leaders in
the unity government, who all agreed to create conditions to ensure
productive agriculture. The once bountiful sector has been destroyed by ten
years of land invasions, done under the guise of ‘reform’, to the benefit of
Robert Mugabe’s cronies. The result has been that almost no farms are
productive, hunger is widespread and the population relies on imports and
food aid to survive.
But the GPA stipulated that the agricultural sector be restored to its
former glory, stating that the government leaders recognised “the need to
ensure that all land is used productively in the interests of all the people
of Zimbabwe.” In article five of the GPA, the leaders agreed to a
comprehensive land audit, to work together to restore full productivity on
land, and to “ensure security of tenure to all land holders.”
It was hoped this agreement would stop ongoing attacks against the remaining
commercial farming community, who, as Zimbabweans citizens, are also meant
to be protected under the GPA. But this has not been the case, and land
invasions continued to intensify even when the MDC was sworn into
government.
Two years on and the situation remains hostile, with many commercial farmers
facing prosecution in the courts for farming their land. Other farmers
continue to fight often violent invasions, and many more have been forcibly
evicted from their homes.
Most recently, a Marondera farming family was evicted over the weekend by
land invaders who gave the family just hours to pack up their belongings and
leave. A listener told SW Radio Africa that the family had given up the
majority of their land in the name of ‘reform’ eight years ago, but this
clearly was not enough and over the weekend their home was seized too.
The local police refused to assist the family, calling the situation a
political one, not a criminal one. The police across the country have used
this same excuse repeatedly, leaving farmers with little protection. Not
even court orders protecting the farmers and their rights to their land have
been enough to stop farm attacks. In the most recent spate of invasions,
farmers with court orders appear to have been specifically targeted,
demonstrating clearly that there is no rule of law in Zimbabwe.
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has been trying to get a moratorium on
land invasions, and a Supreme Court ruling on the matter is expected later
this month. The CFU is trying to stop prosecutions against several of its
members accused of allegedly contravening Section 3(3) of the Gazetted Land
Act, by refusing to vacate farms illegally occupied by Mugabe’s supporters.
The union contends that the prosecutions are “invalid and of no force” and
violate the constitutional rights of the farmers.
But there is doubt that the CFU will have much success, even if their
moratorium is passed, because there is no will to enforce the orders of the
courts.
This is another agreement contained in the two year old GPA that has not
been implemented.