Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon on Wednesday called for immediate action on Zimbabwe following the latest land grab moves by President Robert Mugabe’s regime.
In a statement, he said the decision by the Zimbabwean government to nationalise all farmland by cancelling title deeds to all productive land, and replacing them with 99-year leases, represented an appalling step backwards for that country and for the region.
”It is absolutely crucial that South Africa ends the silence of silent diplomacy. There is an urgent need for both words and action on Zimbabwe’s latest economic anarchy,” he said.
”Our continued failure to speak out on an issue in our immediate sphere of influence — right in our own back yard — stands in sharp contrast to the megaphone diplomacy the South African government has been broadcasting on Haiti, Palestine and the reform of the United Nations.”
Silence was no longer an option on an issue which had overwhelming negative consequences for South African and the entire region.
Until the government spoke out against the nationalisation of land in Zimbabwe, its silence would be read as consent for this decision.
”It is our hope that developments in Zimbabwe will be placed on the agenda at the G8 summit currently taking place in Sea Island, Georgia [United States]; if not by President Mbeki, then by other world leaders.
”Like South Africa, the world cannot stand by and simply allow the crippling assault on economic rights in Zimbabwe go unchecked,” Leon said.
Genuine progress would never be made on the implementation of Nepad and other renewal programmes on the African continent unless strict and decisive action was taken against Zimbabwe, which through this decision continued its flagrant flouting of the principles of good economic and political governance, as contained
in Nepad.
The Zimbabwean government’s plan to ensure that ultimately all land would be state-owned was an immediate red flag to potential investors in Southern Africa.
The economic fallout from such a decision would see Zimbabwe continue its current economic implosion with the resultant destabilising effects on Southern African economies.
It would also exacerbate the already critical shortage of maize, which threatened the food security of millions of Zimbabweans, hastening the exodus of increasing numbers of Zimbabwean refugees to South Africa.
Government should take decisive action on this issue, firstly by condemning the proposal in the strongest possible terms, and secondly by taking practical steps to protect the property rights of South African citizens in Zimbabwe, something which it had so far failed to do.
”Finally, the government should adopt our ‘road to recovery’ plan for Zimbabwe, which will ultimately see democratic elections taking place in that country,” Leon said. – Sapa