Zimbabwe’s food security crisis can literally be relieved ”with the stroke of a pen”, DA agriculture spokesperson Andries Botha said on Thursday.
The only thing standing in the way of this was the ”rogue” government in Zimbabwe, he said.
The vast majority of the farms confiscated from white Zimbabwean farmers during that country’s land reform programme were now lying idle, he said.
There were two main reasons for this.
One was that most of the ”VIPs” allocated farms by the government either had no idea about farming, or were not interested in farming, he said.
The other was that most black Zimbabweans resettled on some of the farms, particularly in the south, had returned to their tribal lands elsewhere because the irrigation systems on the farms had been vandalised.
Furthermore, none of the people allocated farms had title deeds for them, as these were held by government.
Those allocated farms had merely been given the ”use” of them.
Botha said although most white Zimbabwean farmers evicted from the land no longer wanted to return, there was a ”sizeable number” willing to do so, even at this late stage.
Thus, with a stroke of the pen, the Zimbabwe government could reverse the confiscation and farmers could resume food production.
However, Zimbabwe’s rogue government was not prepared to do this, and the only thing keeping that government in place was President Thabo Mbeki’s ”tacit or active” support.
South Africa held great economic sway over Zimbabwe, and Mbeki should, as a first step, put pressure on the Zimbabwe government at least to restore the rights of South African citizens who lost property there.
The latest list of ”VIPs” allocated farms by the Zimbabwe government — provided by Botha on Thursday — contains the names of numerous cabinet ministers, senior military officers and government officials, as well as supporters, and their families. Some have been allocated up to 19 farms.
They include members of Mugabe’s own family, the ministers of justice, local government, public works and housing, energy, national security, lands, agriculture and rural resettlement, transport and communications, higher education, youth employment and gender, information and publicity, finance, health, and the vice president.
The names of, among others, the police commissioner, head of prisons and various mayors and provincial governors are also on the list, along with some businessmen and broadcasters. – Sapa