MDC Press Statement
8 August 2002.
Re-distribution of Land is Essential but Preventing Widespread Famine is a Higher Priority
The move by the Mugabe regime in June to order nearly 3,000 commercial farmers to stop planting and vacate their farms by August 9 is a complete abdication of their responsibility to feed the population during an acute food crisis that is rapidly evolving into a famine affecting all parts of the country. The plight of white commercial farmers is only a symptom of a bigger national crisis of governance.
This crisis not only affects the farmers, but also directly affects at least 70 000 farm workers and a further 250 000 people who are dependent on them, most of them children. Agricultural production will decline drastically, and the country's economy, which is highly dependent on this sector will take the last step towards total collapse, thus worsening the hunger and famine that is affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
The priority now should be to impose a series of constructive measures aimed at tackling the food crisis. Land reform is important, but it is secondary to feeding the country. We must take steps to ensure that every possible effort is made to reduce the food deficit and that sufficient crops are planted during October in order to mitigate the effects of food shortages in 2003.
Contrary to the views of our detractors, the MDC's criticism of the decision to evict over two-thirds of white farmers does not mean that we are opposed to land reform. Indeed, the party has consistently stated that we fully support Mugabe on the principle of land reform, however, as a party committed to the rule of law we cannot support the illegal and violent tactics used by the Mugabe regime to achieve land reform objectives.
Mugabe's fast-track land resettlement programme is not only defined by its illegality and its violence but also by its crude short-sightedness and political opportunism. Such characteristics expose the myth that his land reform policies are designed to address historical injustices. Instead they are designed to entrench his political power base, hence the increasing number of farms allocated to members of the ruling elite at the expense of the rural poor.
In complete contrast to Mugabe and Zanu PF, the MDC's land reform policies are guided by the need to solve land hunger and rural poverty and to provide resettled farmers with the necessary support to make their plots of land commercially viable over the long term. The MDC agrarian reform also aims at creating employment for the people of Zimbabwe, where unemployment has reached 70%. Sensible and constructive land reform must be adequately funded, carried out within the rule of law and supported by comprehensive agrarian reform that will ensure that sufficient infrastructure is in place (schools, hospitals, roads etc) and technical and financial support is available.
One of the first priorities of an MDC government would be to establish an independent Land Commission to implement land redistribution and whose first task would be to audit the situation. The result of the audit will enable proper rationalization of the land redistribution exercise. Those who have been allocated land through legal resettlement schemes would not only keep their land but would also receive government assistance to ensure that their resettlement is commercially productive and financially viable.
Whilst acknowledging the urgent need to address historical injustices in relation to the disproportionate distribution of farm land in Zimbabwe it is also critical that the implementation of any land policy does not destroy the country's capacity to feed its own people; Mugabe's desire to pursue an agenda which flagrantly ignores such a constructive approach will condemn thousands to die of starvation.
Renson Gasela,
MDC Shadow Minister for Lands, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Notes to Editors:
The Central Tenets of the MDC's Land Policy are as follows:
· Establish an independent Land Commission to plan, manage and implement land reform
· The Land Commission will immediately acquire 7 million hectares of land for resettlement through the identification and acquisition of under-utilised land, derelict and multiple-owned land already identified and designated for the purpose and land that has been corruptly allocated.
· Zimbabweans who have been legally allocated land will remain on their land and will receive government assistance to ensure that their resettlement is commercially productive
· All resettled farmers will eventually receive security of tenure
· A minimum size for farms in each region
· A ban on multiple ownership by a single entity in the short to medium term period (5 years) in order to release land for acquisition
· A progressive land tax will be introduced to discourage farmers owning unutilised land and facilitate land release onto the market.
For further information please contact:
Renson Gasela, MDC Shadow Minister for Land, Agriculture and Natural Resources - 00263 91 204 644
Tendai Biti, MDC Secretary for Land - 00263 11 602401
Nkanyiso Maqueda, MDC Information Manager - 00263 91 248 570
Grace Kwinjeh, Brussels - 0032 494 181621
James Littleton, London - 0044 7771 501 401
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