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‘Govt not going back on gazetted farms’

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FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday told Parliament that government will not budge over its position that white farmers should vacate gazetted farms.

FINANCE minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday told Parliament that government will not budge over its position that white farmers should vacate gazetted farms.

SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER

Chinamasa was responding to Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure (MDC-T), who wanted to know government policy regarding the fresh farm invasions.

“With respect to the so-called farm invasions, I have gone into this matter and visited farms that were ‘invaded’ and found there are certain whites who have no respect of the law in that their farms were gazetted for acquisition by government, but they were still resisting moving off the farms when the rightful people with offer letters came to occupy,” Chinamasa said.

“The white farmers must comply with the law and must not continue resisting enforcement of the law,” he said.

Binga North MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda (MDC-T) demanded to know if President Robert Mugabe’s recent pronouncements that all remaining white farmers should move out of the farms were not going to further derail economic recovery.

“Everybody must abide by the law. The whole land reform programme was to try and address historical imbalances without failure and excuse and when we say those whites must go, it is those resisting abiding by the law who are affected. Some white farmers have offer letters and they are not affected,” Chinamasa said.

He also told the House that the Chinese were set to visit Zimbabwe to undertake feasibility studies to construct the new Parliament building.

Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa told Parliament that Sadc Health ministers had made a resolution recently in Ethiopia that it was not necessary to completely close borders for nationals from Ebola-affected countries as that would have negative economic consequences on the region.