Zimbabwe’s parliament on Wednesday rushed through amendments to land laws, giving the government of President Robert Mugabe a freer hand to seize white-owned property and evict farmers, state television reported.
Under the new rules, farmers will now be forcibly removed from their land seven days after being notified, instead of 90 days as before, ZBC television said.
The fine for refusal to comply was also increased fivefold to 100 000 Zimbabwe dollars ($1 800).
Mugabe, who has defied criticism at home and abroad to proceed with the controversial evictions, had been angered by legal challenges filed by many white farmers to the acquisition of their farms.
The bill has to be signed by the president before it becomes law.
Mugabe has been criticised at home and abroad for ordering 2 900 white farmers to leave their homes early last month, despite a devastating food shortage that has left six million Zimbabweans facing starvation.
Most farmers affected by the government deadline ignored it, resulting in a police crackdown on dissenters that saw more than 300 farmers arrested around the southern African country.
The farmers have been accused of racism and trying to undermine national development and Mugabe has warned those who challenge his government that their place is in jail.
The government has embarked on a massive land redistribution exercise that has so far seen more than 95% of white-owned land compulsorily acquired for redistribution, according to farmers’ groups.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) put up stiff resistance during debate on the bill. They accused the government of using parliament to validate a disorganised land resettlement policy.
This amounted to ”abuse of parliament” said the MDC’s secretary general, Welshman Ncube. But he added that his party was pleased to have registered their protest.
”For us the important thing was to expose the gross incompetence of this regime,” he said.
On Monday, the UN food agency WFP said nearly seven-million Zimbabweans were threatened with starvation, an increase of 800 000 from previous figures, a crisis it blamed on inclement weather, government policy and Aids.
In a landmark ruling in August, a High Court judge said that eviction orders were invalid if they had not been first served to banks or lending institutions farmers were indebted to.
The new amendments seek to remedy this by stipulating that these institutions are to be served with a 30-day notice before the government takes the farm.
Farmers who had gained some hope when their eviction orders were ruled invalid are now likely to see them reissued, leaving them very little time to pack up their belongings.
Mugabe’s government has consistently said that white farmers who own only one farm can stay on their land. But farmers’ groups dispute the claim.
The white-run Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) said on Wednesday: ”Mr Robert Mugabe’s statement at many international fora, that of one man one farm and that no man shall be dispossessed of all of his land, is simply not being adhered to.” – Sapa-AFP