Harare – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government has
reportedly continued to "tighten the screws" on the remaining white farmers as it
came up with a somewhat "discriminatory policy" that "limits their leases to just five years while their
black counterparts will enjoy 99-year-long leases".
According to New Zimbabwe.com , lands minister Douglas
Mombeshora said over the weekend that resettled black farmers will be issued
with the 99-year leases "which are immediately bankable" while the remaining
white farmers would have theirs reviewed every five years.
"There are white farmers who have been approved by
provincial officers to continue farming after satisfying a number of
requirements.
"We will be giving such farmers five-year leases that are
subject to renewal upon meeting certain conditions at the expiry of the
documents. This will enable us to collect taxes from these farmers," Mombeshora
wa quoted as saying.
This came 17 years after Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party
launched a controversial land reform programme.
Thousands of white commercial
farmers and their employees were displaced and left without sources of income
during the fast-tracked agrarian reforms in 2000.
Fresh land grabs
Some of the farmers lost their lives
during the chaotic land seizures.
Mugabe in June threatened to embark on fresh land grabs targeting the few white
commercial farmer s still remaining in the country.
Addressing thousands of his supporters in the farming town of Marondera, the nonagenarian
said white commercial agronomists who still remained on the farms should be
removed from their properties because most Zimbabweans were in need of land.
"We told (former British premier)
Tony Blair to keep his England and we keep our Zimbabwe because land is our
heritage. We have discovered that in Mashonaland East province alone, there are
73 white commercial farmers who are still occupying some farms when our people
do not have land," said Mugabe speaking in the local Shona language.
He continued: "We are going to take those farms and
re-distribute them to our youths, some of whom did not benefit from the land
reform programme but the land would not be enough for everybody. We are also
going to take away the land from small scale purchase farmers who are not
utilising those farms for re-distribution."
