"We dismiss the claim that the government is destroying the backbone of the country's agriculture-based economy by resettling landless people," Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told The Herald. The World Food Program estimates that nearly half of the 12.5 million Zimbabweans were at risk of starvation in the coming year and a U.N. relief team arrived Wednesday on an assessment tour.
Despite promises to redistribute the confiscated land to poorer segments of the population, many of the farms have been given to confidantes of Mugabe and ruling party leaders. The party leaders also accused white farmers of trying to take over the country, saying they were taking "a racist and fascist approach of wanting to continue white dominance in this country," Made said.***
But a useful guide to the prospects of NEPAD is the previous conduct of its architects. Representing Africa in Kananaskis were Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the continent's heavyweights. These men were also two-thirds of the Commonwealth troika on Zimbabwe. When Robert Mugabe stole the election earlier this year, Messrs Obasanjo and Mbeki flew to Harare for a "working lunch" with the old mass murderer. Their suggestion was that he form a coalition government including members of the party he'd stolen the election from. Mr. Mugabe laughed so hard his Chinese- made rubber penis fell off. To be honest, Mr. Mbeki's heart wasn't really in this "compromise" proposal: Indeed, after Mr. Mugabe's cheerfully straightforward fraud, intimidation and violence paid off on election day, Mr. Mbeki's government had sent him a congratulatory telegram.***