|
Geen Boer - Geen Kos. Zimbabwe to retain 716 white farmers after land reforms
More than 700 white farmers will retain their land in keeping with proposals by Zimbabwe's government to improve food security and restore confidence in the agriculture sector, the state-run Sunday Mail weekly reported here.Quoting a report presented at the ruling party's annual conference two weeks ago, the paper said the government was currently drafting offer letters for a group of 341 unspecified white farmers who would be allowed to continue farming throughout the country.
This would bring to 716 the total number of farms spared from compulsory acquisition by the Zimbabwean government for purposes of resettling landless people. Zimbabwe had more than 6,000 white farmers who formed the backbone of the economy prior to the land reform programme in 2000. A further 140 white farmers would be prosecuted for failing to vacate farms after receiving eviction notices. The decision to spare some farmers from eviction follows on the heels of a landmark case in which 78 white farmers successfully challenged the constitutionality of Zimbabwe's land reform programme at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal in Namibia. The tribunal ruled in favour of the farmers and said Zimbabwe had violated the SADC Treaty which forbids countries to discriminate on the basis of colour or race. All of this happy-talk took place at the powerless SADC in Windhoek. What will actually happen is Zim may be another story. Posted by: Besoeker 2009-01-01 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=258720 |