Mugabe
Iden Wetherell A point South AfricaOs President Thabo Mbeki might not have fully appreciated when he arrived at Harare airport on Wednesday for talks with President Robert Mugabe was the presence among his reception committee of squatters from neighbouring farms. The ruling Zanu-PF party now regularly ferries squatters to airport receptions to welcome visiting dignitaries. It is part of the process of patronage and reciprocal obligation that underpins what remains of MugabeOs support base. The farms around the airport have been invaded and carved up by Zanu-PF supporters led by war veterans, some of whom have taken leave of absence from their Harare municipal employers to fulfil this entirely illegal revolutionary agenda. MugabeOs dependence upon such supporters weakens assurances made to Mbeki at WednesdayOs meeting to have them removed from the farms they occupy. Mugabe told Mbeki that they would be resettled on farms acquired by the government Owithin the monthO. But on Thursday he denied he had said they would be removed. Mbeki, who thought he had pocketed a firm commitment, will once again be placed in an invidious position. At the end of April, at a mini-summit of regional leaders at the Victoria Falls, Mugabe pledged to end the farm invasions and restore the rule of law. In return Mbeki promised to prompt donor support for ZimbabweOs land resettlement programme.
He soon found himself hostage to the Zimbabwean leaderOs electoral imperatives. Mugabe could not abandon the main weapon of coercion at his disposal. The war veterans remained where they were to cow a rebellious rural constituency. Now Mugabe, feeling even more besieged, will want to retain the political initiative. Hence the recent announcement that 2 237 farms will be seized in addition to the 804 currently being processed. Mbeki was told these were part of a grand design to transfer five-million hectares to black peasants in which all stakeholders were involved.
In fact the governmentOs wish-list was drawn up by a Zanu-PF national land acquisition committee that has no legal standing. The much-touted Onew-lookO Cabinet was not consulted. And stakeholders have been left in the dark. The largely white Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has launched a court appeal against the proposed seizures as the army began this week visiting the farms concerned to compile inventories of assets. Mbeki said in Harare on Wednesday that he was confident Mugabe would take steps to restore the rule of law. This comes hard on the heels of a visit to Harare last week by a mission from United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, which made clear that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) would be unable to resume its role in brokering support for ZimbabweOs land reform bid until the rule of law had been restored.
That looks unlikely as ThursdayOs hostage drama at Norton makes clear. Ten farmers and members of their families were held at gunpoint by war veterans. CFU president Tim Henwood says despite claims that the police were responding to calls for help from farmers, Oin the majority of the cases to date they have seemingly been unwilling or unable to carry out their dutiesO. New Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo told farmers they had provoked the war veterans by appealing to the courts against acquisition of their farms. UNDP officials privately suggest there is no room in the current wave of arbitrary seizures, designed primarily to propitiate Zanu-PFOs land invaders, to expect donors to come on board. Mugabe said yesterday the donors could keep their money. OThe donors can stay with their money. We will not give up our land because of what the donors say.O That means MbekiOs quest for a solution to ZimbabweOs ongoing political and economic crisis is far from over.