Minister Douglas Mombeshora
From George Maponga in Masvingo
The government has started issuing leases to white farmers who were recommended to remain on their properties throughout the country. Lands and Rural Resettlement Minister Douglas Mombeshora last Friday said the duration of the leases being issued to the white farmers varied depending on the type of their farming operations.
Cde Mombeshora said white farmers who were receiving leases were recommended by their respective provinces to remain on their land as their operations were deemed to be of strategic economic importance.
“We’ve already started issuing leases to white farmers after receiving recommendations that they must remain on their properties from their respective provinces. I can’t tell the number of leases we’ve given out or that we’re going to give but all I can say is we’re giving white farmers leases,’’ he said.
Minister Mombeshora said the government was not giving white farmers special treatment by giving them leases while their indigenous black counterparts are getting offer letters.
He stressed that indigenous black farmers who benefited under the land reform programme would also get leases after proving their capacity to work on the land.
“We’re giving the white farmers leases right away because we already know their production history on the properties they were recommended to stay. The white farmers who are getting leases have been on their properties for a long time and everyone knows their capabilities,’’ he said.
“I’ve always said that there’s nothing special about being white, these people are also Zimbabweans like anyone else and they’ll be treated like anyone else. Indigenous black farmers will also get leases but that’ll happen after about three years. During this time, we’ll be monitoring things such as production levels and also whether they would’ve taken up their properties because most of them are still fairly new in farming,’’ said Cde Mombeshora.
The Lands and Rural Resettlement Minister said provincial land committees countrywide together with their respective political leadership had the final say on which white farmers remained on their properties.
Most provinces around the country have recommended several white farmers in strategic areas such as dairy farming and hybrid bull production to remain on their properties and help revive agricultural production and enhance economic growth in those areas.
In Masvingo about six white farmers were recommended to get offer letters, by the provincial leadership, among them a chicken breeder, Helen Mitchell whose Barquest Farm on the shores of Lake Mutirikwi produces 100, 000 day-old chicks per week.
Barquest Farm was at the centre of a wrangle pitting Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Senator Shuvai Mahofa and Tourism and Hospital Industry Minister Engineer Walter Mzembi after the former blocked the latter from moving onto the property on the grounds that it was strategic to Masvingo province’s economy.
Last year, Cde Mombeshora said white farmers who get security of tenure documents such as offer letters and leases needed to prove their total loyalty to work for Zimbabwe’s socio-economic development as true and committed citizens.