Zimbabwe whites 'must stop farming'

BBC Africa Service ^ | June 24, 2002 | Barnaby Phillips

[Clive]

The majority of white farmers who are still in Zimbabwe are legally obliged to stop working their land from Monday, according to their union.

The Commercial Farmers' Union says that 2,900 farmers must surrender farms in line with recent changes to the law, which give the Zimbabwean Government sweeping powers to take land.

Any farmer who carries on working their land 45 days after receiving an acquisition notice could face two years in prison.

The number of farmers affected represents about 60% of the total of white farmers who were in Zimbabwe at the time that land seizures began two years ago.

Self-sufficiency

Last month the government passed the legislation, giving farmers 45 days to stop working land which has been listed for acquisition and redistribution.

War veterans have spearheaded the government's land push In theory the farmers now have another 45 days, at the end of which they must leave their properties for good.

The government was not available for comment, but a state controlled newspaper said the authorities had rejected requests from farmers that they be allowed to stay on.

Some white farmers appear to be in a defiant mood and say they will carry on farming.

One said, you can't just wind up 50 years of work in 45 days.

Donors say the food shortages now affecting millions of Zimbabweans are directly linked to the often chaotic redistribution of land.

But the government says that by taking land from white farmers and giving it to landless black peasants, it is ensuring greater self-sufficiency in the future.

[Clive]

Section 9, Land Acquisition Act (consolidated to 10-5-02)

9 Eviction of owner or occupier

(1) The following provisions shall, subject to subsection (5) of section 7 and subsections (2), (3), (4) and (7) of section 8, apply to the vacation by the owner or occupier of land acquired in terms of this Act-

(a) in relation to land other than agricultural land required for resettlement purposes, any person who, immediately prior to the date on which an order is made in terms of subsection (1) section 8, owned, occupied, held or used the land to which such order relates shall, if so required by not less than three months' notice in writing by the acquiring authority, cease to occupy, hold or use that land, and if he fails to do so, he shall be liable to be evicted by order of a competent court;

(b) in relation to any agricultural land required for resettlement purposes, the making of an order in terms of subsection (1) of section 8 shall constitute notice in writing to the owner or occupier to cease to occupy, hold or use that land 45 days after the date of service of the order upon the owner or occupier, and if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment: Provided that

(i) the owner or occupier of that land may remain in occupation of his living quarters on that land for a period of not more than 90 days after the date of service of the order;

(ii) the owner or occupier shall cease to occupy his living quarters after the period referred to in proviso

(i), and if he fails to do so he shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(2) A court which has convicted a person of an offence in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) or proviso (ii) thereto shall issue an order to evict the person convicted from the land to which the offence relates.

As you can see, the Act does not just order a farmer to stop farming. It totally denies him the use of his land for any purpose, except a licence to remain in his home for the next 45 days.

In my interpretation, he cannot exclude any person from his land and he cannot even take measures to protect the land, its crops, its livestock its feed stocks or its water supply.

[Clive]

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[oline]

Donors say the food shortages now affecting millions of Zimbabweans are directly linked to the often chaotic redistribution of land. But the government says that by taking land from white farmers and giving it to landless black peasants, it is ensuring greater self-sufficiency in the future.

I'm sure others have already pointed this out - but really waht do they think they are going to accomplish by all this? How does this action result in greater self-sufficiency if any at all? My God - is this just "payback" ?

[17th Miss Regt]

In order to exterminate his enemies, Mugabe must weaken them with hunger first. Then the thugs will have little trouble moving in and mopping up the opposition. The whole country will now starve.

[Mike Darancette]

And where is Amnisty International on this?

[coloradan]

But the government says that by taking land from white farmers and giving it to landless black peasants, it is ensuring greater self-sufficiency in the future.

Note: If everybody dies in the first year of starvation, because there are no crops that year, it doesn't ensure self-sufficiency because there are no "selfs" to take care of themselves beginning in year 2.

[tet68]

Dead on, once the famine really gets going, the white farmers will be charged with sabotage, wrecking, spitting on the side walk, etc.

Any opposition members would do well to escape now, if it isn't already too late.

[Balding_Eagle]

brace youselves,the US taxpayer is going to be asked, no forced, to buy food for these fools.

[17th Miss Regt]

On the other hand, there are no shortages, either, because there is no demand. Problem solved.

[TheDon]

Let me get this straight, the gov't is telling farmers to not produce food in a country that is in the midst of a famine? Am I missing something?

[17th Miss Regt]

This process has been obvious for about a year now. It really picked up after the election was stolen. South Africa is next and not too far down the road either...

[BenLurkin]

>Hopefully not. This time the information is availible for Amerians to see the whole picture.
>We are fed up with paying for the results of evil on the other side of the world. Be it Bosnia, Kashmir or Africa, Americans have got to put our foot down and say, "No, these nations are their own enemy, and when we feed them they only go on to become our enemy."
>The well of our tax dollars must be shut off for this kind of foreign aid under these kinds of circumstances.

[Chewbacca]

The white Zimbabwe farmers must stop farming, and the gullible American Government and people must stop sending food.

[F.J. Mitchell]

The welfare recipent blacks are awarded the land stolen from the welfare financing whites-the economy goes to hell-but is then subsidized by the tax paying whites of the United States.

Ever wonder what the world would be like if the continent of Africa had never been discovered? Who would have thought that immunity from sun burn would also guarantee immunity from responsibility?

[Lancey Howard]

My oh my oh my oh my.....
What on God's green earth would civilized human beings still be doing in a sickening third world sewer like Zimbabwe? These white farmers are simply begging to be slaughtered by Mugabe's savages. There comes a time to finally "cut bait" and that time came and went long ago in Zimbabwe.

[Ronin]

White in Zimbabwe need to get a clue and get out. The place is doomed. Nothing will save it now.

[Bogey78O]

How about we take the money we would send to Zimbabwe in terms of food and we evac out the farmers and other key opponents of Mugabe? The new influx of immigrants would be severe though. Perhaps we could arrange a deal with other Western powers.

That way not only does Zimbabwe lose it's bread winners but Mugabe also loses his scape goat.

[ffrancone]

I would be plowing salt, lots of salt, during the next 45 days.