Reaction to Mr Christopher Jarrett of SAFCA
I would like to comment on the view expressed by one Christopher Jarrett of
the Southern African Commercial Farmers’ Association SACFA in today’s
installment of The Zimbabwe Situation.
Let me state first that I am not a ZANU-PF apologist or a supporter of the
unplanned land seizures of the early 2000s to date . All I want to point out
without denigrating the collosal impact these terrible land expropriations
had on the Zimbabwean economy is that the economy did not collapse with the
land invasions or with the war veterans’ gratuities as some believe .
Remember that the chaotic land reform started well after the Movement for
Democratic Change was formed in 1999 and well after ZAPU was re-launched in
1998. Remember also that the formation or the rise of these movements was
inspired by the ‘collapse’ of the economy for the majority. Perhaps for the
commecial farmers as represented by Mr Jarrett the economy was in good shape
until the invasions but I want to submit that when the ZCTU under the
leadership of Gibson Sibanda staged successful strikes in the late 1990s the
economy had ‘collapsed ‘ for the majority of workers.Workers were fed up, it
was a culmination of years of restraint , fear and suffering.
I raise these issues so that the pursuit for a solution to the crisis in
Zimbabwe a given the correct diagnosis since correct diagnosis is half the
cure.
SIKHUMBUZO DUBE
ZAPU- FEDERAL PARTY
President