THE return of 67 farms to their white owners from whom they had been taken at the height of the land reform exercise at the turn of the millenium is testament of policy inconsistency on the part of the Zanu PF administration.
This policy inconsistency, along with several other ills such as the absence of the rule of law, shrinking democratic space and corruption are the major reason why Zimbabwe’s economy is in the abyss, with no hope of a quick return to normalcy.
The reports must place every resettled farmer in an anxious position, unsure of what might happen tomorrow. The returning farmers may find nothing wrong with the announcement of the reversal. There are reports that the government has already started evicting the people who had settled on the farms.
For the government, the return of the farms has opened a window for them to address a number of other policy issues, key among these being finding solutions to the contentious issue of compensation for farmers, especially those that were covered by the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippa).
The government has initiated a process to return 67 farms protected under Bippa and pay US$146 million in compensation to farmers who are protected under the arrangement. It is also important to note that around April 2025, the government paid out US$3,1 million to 378 farmers as compensation for improvements on the farms they lost in the early 2000s land resettlement programme.
These concessions are aimed at settling compensation claims for farmers who lost their land during the chaotic period. The programme is also aimed at mending relations with foreign nations and help in strengthening the country’s bid towards debt arrears clearance.
On the one hand, the government’s current position must be supported but only as far as they keep their word. One of Zimbabwe’s major challenges is policy inconsistency and it remains to be seen whether the government will walk the talk on current pronouncements on land.
While this is noble, it exposes the government in both ways. Did the government need over 20 years to respond to the voice of reason? On the other, the farmers who had settled there were banking on government protection which has now been removed.
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The government’s policy on the sensitive issue of land must not be doubted in as much as it must have clarity.
Land was one of the reasons why the liberation struggle was fought, over and above universal suffrage — the topical one man, one vote — which the majority were denied during the era of the minority settler regime led by Ian Smith.
Evicting the resettled farmers is tantamount to uprooting them from the means of production on which they had relied for decades. It is not only unfair but is also morally wrong. These are people who had developed an attachment to the farms on which they had settled.
The liberation struggle was fought in order to address some of the discrepancies in terms of land ownership. The imbalance was fairly tilted in favour of the white settlers.
As things stand, the removal of these farmers might lead to social upheaval. What is also worrying is the alleged corruption in land ownership where privileged as well as politically-connected individuals might not be affected in this latest development relating to land. Giving some groups preferential treatment is a test on transparency and sincerity on the part of the government.
Corruption has been one of the biggest challenges facing Zimbabwe. It is a cancer that has been allowed to metastasise to frightening levels, as it has been allowed to grow gradually and systematically since Independence in 1980. It has been institutionalised and is growing by the day.
Poverty and deprivation are the drivers of the growing informality around us, which is not child’s play. These are serious people who are trying to fight unemployment which is hovering above 90%. Without jobs, school leavers have turned to drugs and dangerous substances, which are almost destroying a whole generation of youths.
The fortunate ones have found their way into informal trading, better known as vending.
While the return of farms to their previous white owners is a step in the right direction in terms of the government’s push towards re-engagement, the same policy is also widely viewed as a development that will cost it trust and confidence from the very citizens it purports to represent.
It is a policy that will affect the poor more than anyone else. They do not enjoy the wealth that the country has. Zimbabwe’s abundant mineral resources — gold, platinum group minerals, chrome, lithium and other rare earths — do not benefit the generality of the country’s citizens. Those who continue to benefit are the same well-heeled individuals and political elites. The same group has been accused of leading smuggling rings that have led to Zimbabwe losing close to US$1 billion annually.
Although the country’s ports of entry are reportedly porous, this is not something that cannot be controlled. There is lack of willpower on the part of the authorities to tackle smuggling as they are accused of taking part in the criminal enterprise themselves because they are reaping immensely from it.
This is why we, as the Democratic Official Party have always argued that there is a lot that needs to be righted in the way Zimbabwe is being run.
The country is awash with natural resources, including minerals and yet the ordinary citizen is enduring grinding poverty daily. There is growing inequality and yet we hear officials preaching a different gospel — an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
Wilson is the founder and leader of the Democratic Official Party.
