Scores of Zimbabwe farms 'seized'

[Palmela]

Scores of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe have been invaded since the country's national unity government took office, a union chief has told the BBC.

Commercial Farmers Union President Trevor Gifford said 77 properties had been occupied in the last fortnight.

MPs, police, the military and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials had taken part in the invasions, he said.

Many of the farmers targeted recently mounted a successful legal challenge to government land reforms, he added.

The BBC attempted to contact a number of officials from President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party - including the ministers of agriculture and lands - but no-one was available to comment on the farmers' union claims.

Attempts to contact the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), whose leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister earlier this month, were also unsuccessful.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Tribunal ruled in November the Zimbabwe government's programme of seizing white-owned property for redistribution to landless black farmers was discriminatory and illegal.

The government said at the time that it would not comply with the ruling.

'Ethnic cleansing'

The power-sharing deal between Zanu-PF and the MDC was eventually agreed after disputed elections and months of talks, during which the economy slid into a deepening crisis.

Mr Gifford told the BBC News website the recent spate of invasions was focused on the provinces of Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, Masvingo and Midlands.

The CFU president blamed the invasions on a minority of figures close to Zanu-PF who were "using their offices to ensure ethnic cleansing can take place before the prime minister is able to stabilise the country".

"This is being led by members of the old regime in Zanu-PF who are not willing to see the transition take place to a new unity government," Mr Gifford added.

"Zimbabwe is facing a severe food crisis and we're in the midst of the agricultural season so the impact of this will worsen the catastrophe."

More than half Zimbabwe's population is in need of food aid and inflation - estimated by some economists at 10 sextillion per cent - has left its currency almost worthless.

Mr Gifford said there were about 400 functioning white-owned farms left in Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Roy Bennett - the MDC's nominee for deputy agricultural minister - faces a bail hearing on Tuesday after he was arrested this month accused of terrorism on charges his supporters say are trumped-up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7906031.stm

 

[Fudzy]

Everyday I'm thankful our transition between governments went as well as it did, it could have been so much worse.

 

[Vrotappel]

So they require bail out money from SA so that they can continue to steal farms?

 

[Phenom]

These farms should be returend to these people.. or they should be compensated for their losses.

when will it happen?

 

[OhGats]

Hold out the begging bowl and then shoot yourself in the foot at the same time. The mind boggles.

 

[BTTB]

Zimbabwe has snubbed SADC's own Court Ruling about the illegal occupation of farms. So why does this latest move not surprise me.

Unity Government? Sounds more like a case of as thick as thieves while each Political figure clamours for his/her share of the pie.
I really feel sorry for those poor farmers as they must have endured a life of hell over the last decade as each shred of hope was taken away from them. The weird part is these are not bad people, they don't deserve this fate, they love Zimbabwe just like I love my own country, yet their own country's politicians are the biggest bunch of racist conniving zealots making anything the Nats might have done in South Africa look like kindergarten politics.

Here we are staring a world wide commodity slump which will further dampen Zimbabwe's prospects, yet people who are running that country and supposed to be looking after the well-being of it's citizens don't care about agriculture and food production which could save the day.

Now South Africa's taxpayers must fork out to support this? What the fsck for. We work bloody hard for our money. As it is the 4 or 5 Million actual taxpayers in this country are already supporting around 15 million people on welfare grants. That means I support around 3 people I don't even know. Now someone in Zimbabwe too.
How much more burden do we have to endure in the midst of the largest global financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929, 80 years ago.

And once this Government has sponged all they can out of us, are they going to do the same to our farmers?
Time for political change in South Africa I say. I will not accept another "TIA" scenario for SA. Time the lazy people in Government are ousted and people that are prepared to work are put in office.

 

[Sackboy]

These farms should be returend to these people.. or they should be compensated for their losses.

when will it happen?

The MDC won't do it, even if they had the power.