About 2 900 white-owned farms in Zimbabwe must stop operating on Monday under a new law to pave the way for the government’s land redistribution exercise, a farmers’ representative said on Friday.
The farmers represent about 60% of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) members who held about 4 813 title deeds before the land reforms began in 2000.
They would have to stop running their farms by Monday under a new law, representative Jenni Williams said.
On May 10 the government passed new legislation under which a farmer whose property has been earmarked for acquisition stops farming 45 days after the notice of acquisition has been issued and vacates the property within 90 days.
According to the CFU, the 2 900 farmers had been notified by the government before May 10 of the intention to acquire their property. Therefore the 45-day notice period to stop farming came into effect from the day the law was passed.
Farmers who ignore the time limit commit an offence liable to two years in jail or a 20 000 Zimbabwe dollar ($364) fine or both.
Some tobacco farmers who had made a special application to the government to continue farming until the end of next season early next year, had their request turned down, according to the state-run Herald newspaper Friday.
The government rejected the request saying it would not act outside the law, and accused white farmers of trying to derail the land reform programme.
The CFU representative said on Friday that, in addition to farmers who have to stop operations, an estimated 232 000 farm workers would also have to stop working on Monday in line with the new law. – Sapa-AFP