I'd Scratch Zimbabwe Off of Your Places to See' List if I Were You

[Phaedrus]

Zimbabwe to Nationalise All Land

Zimbabwe plans to end private ownership of land, a minister says.

(BBC Online)

John Nkomo, minister in charge of land reform, says that all title deeds will be replaced by 99-year leases.

He told the state-owned Herald newspaper that all land-owners should go to the government to be "vetted" to get a lease.

About 500 white farmers remain on their land in Zimbabwe, out of some 4,000 in 2000, when the government speeded up the process of land reform.

They own just 3% of the best farmland, down from 70%, government figures say.

Mr Nkomo says that leases would be 25 years for wildlife conservancies, to allow more people to take part in that lucrative sector.

"Ultimately, all land shall be resettled as state property. It will now be the state which will enable the utilisation of the land for national prosperity," he said.

Private ownership of land is not allowed in many African countries.

More Farms Listed

The white Zimbabwean farmers who have gone to countries such as Zambia and Mozambique have been given long leases.

The Herald says that the government continues to list farms for compulsory state acquisition - 259 last year and 918 this year.

Government critics and aid agencies says that the disruption to the farm sector has led to massive hunger, with more than half the population needing food aid.

But the government says that harvests are now rising, with production of the staple food maize, more than doubling compared to the previous two years.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told state-run media that the government's land redistribution programme was responsible for the improvement.

The government blamed the food shortages of previous years on drought.

 

[Oceans11]

I think that their problems run a teeny bit deeper than land grabbing....

Zimbabwe
With more than a passing resemblance to a National Geographic best-of issue, Zimbabwe is a beautiful and usually safe country to visit. It boasts the majestic Victoria Falls, magnificent wildlife preserves and the medieval ruins of Great Zimbabwe, as well as the bustling city of Harare.

Whether you're lying in a tent listening to hippos snuffle in the river nearby or shaking your booty at an all-night percussion jam, there's more than enough elbow room to raise a bucket of chibuku to your lips and toast this fascinating country.

Warning
Currently, Zimbabwe is in a state of turmoil. Incumbent President Robert Mugabe of the Zanu-PF party won an unprecedented fifth term in March 2002, but the election was plagued with corruption and the results are highly contested by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Commonwealth officials agreed and suspended Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth for a year over the dubious elections. On 7 December 2003, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth .

Representatives from South Africa and Nigeria are attempting to mediate negotiations between the parties, but in the meantime, the controversial leader is cracking down on any criticism of his government. His fascist tactics include charging political rivals with treason, arresting journalists and civil rights activists, and threatening any opposition.

Mugabe's plans to accelerate 'land reform' have led to increased violence against white farmers. Members of Mugabe's party began occupying some 1500 white-owned farms in 2000, and recent reports indicate the number of evictions is quickly rising.

Meanwhile, the country is facing the prospect of famine due to an ongoing drought and infrastructure problems. Mugabe recently declared a state of disaster and is calling for foreign aid to help the starving. Mali and Mozambique are also in danger of famine.

It is advisable that you check government travel advice before you travel to Zimbabwe. If you must visit, avoid demonstrations of any kind.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/zimbabwe/

 

[TheFunkMonkey]

So the white people in Zimbabwe are actually victims of racism? You don't see that too often.

 

[jeffry22]

I bet those farmers are going to work real hard to grow crops on the "govt" land. Those africans sure are stupid - arent they?

 

[WildBill]

These stories don't even tell a bit of the story. Take a despotic leader who seems to want to serve until he is like 105 and give him total control of the government and the press and this is what you get. If you vote against him, you get beaten. If you run against his party, you get killed. If you make any money or have any land of value, you get it stolen. This was one of the most productive and rich African countries around at one point, one of the few that could actually feed itself and had food left over for export, but those days are long gone. Now the people are starving and the government lies about it and says it was just drought problems. Two UN agencies say actually it is a flat out lie and that the only people eating right now are supporters of the government. Pretty good old-fashioned African tool, starve the people and then they will support anything you do if you feed them.

 

[DarrylParsons]

The really funny part is that we at the Rx have enough money, firepower and know-how that if we wanted, we could organize ourselves to take over this shlthole and rename it RxLand. The only reason we don't is because we don't stand to gain enough compared to the cost and effort.

 

[Phaedrus]

See also:

Robert Mugabe: Redefining Irony

I've always thought that Mugabe would make an excellent candidate for inclusion in an Assassination Politics operation.


Phaedrus

 

[TheFunkMonkey]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Darryl Parsons:
The really funny part is that we at the Rx have enough money, firepower and know-how that if we wanted, we could organize ourselves to take over this shlthole and rename it RxLand. The only reason we don't is because we don't stand to gain enough compared to the cost and effort.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sounds like a plan. Who wants to invade Zimbabwe?

 

[Phaedrus]

I dunno; you have a resource-rich country of over 12,000,000 people that can't think of any reason why Mugabe should be overthrown -- they're just waiting for someone to come along and *liberate* them, or worse actually look at Mugabe as some sort of leader. Not sure this is the kind of place of which you'd want to be in charge.

With a population that is majority male, has an average life expectancy of 39 and a median age of 18 (see here) one would think that it would be a cinch to raise a rebel force -- all that young testosterone flowing in an are of crippling economic disarray and political scandal. The fact that no such rebellion is occuring at this point is just not inspiring -- in fact they'd be as likely to revolt against new management than anything else, once the "foreign capitalist devil exploiters" cries were circulated.

Add to that the fact that the global community, which has tolerated Mugabe for nearly a quarter century, would immediately cry "tyranny in Zimbabwe must not stand" the moment we took over, and I just don't see the risk:reward ratio as being worth it.


Phaedrus

 

[Oceans11]

Zimbabwe reveals $200M China arms deal


President Mugabe has been in power since 1980
Zimbabwe's opposition has condemned a government decision to order fighter aircraft from China and other military equipment worth an estimated $200m.
The defence ministry confirmed it was buying defence equipment from China.

Opposition defence spokesman Giles Mutsekwa said 12 fighter jets and 100 military vehicles were being bought.

Mr Mutsekwa suggested that the move was intended to intimidate Zimbabweans ahead of parliamentary elections due to be held in March next year.


Tendering

Defence Ministry Secretary Trust Maphosa reportedly revealed the purchase during a quarterly review of the defence ministry budget in parliament.

Under questioning he also admitted tendering procedures had been breached.

He blamed this on security reasons and on an arms embargo slapped on Zimbabwe by the European Union and the United States which he said was making it difficult to find spare parts for the current fleet.

Mr Mutsekwa said he was deeply concerned that parliament had not been informed.

"We believe this is a kind of intimidatory tactic because we are going towards very crucial elections next year," he said.

"The idea is that whatever the public does, there is a possibility of it being subverted by the military," he told AFP news agency.

Zimbabwe is suffering a major economic crisis, with inflation at more than 400%, unemployment at about 70% and millions of people surviving on foreign food aid - blamed by critics on a controversial land reform programme.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3804629.stm

 

[Phaedrus]

Hm.

Zimbabwe "Not Nationalising Land"

Zimbabwe has denied reports that it plans to end private land ownership.

(BBC News Online)

Policy on land which is not part of the land reform programme is not changing, a statement said.

John Nkomo, minister in charge of land reform, was last week quoted as saying that all title deeds would be replaced by 99-year leases.

About 500 white farmers remain on their land in Zimbabwe, out of some 4,000 in 2000, when the government speeded up the process of land reform.

They own just 3% of the best farmland, down from 70%, government figures say.

'Scheduling Problem'

The statement said that blacks who have been allocated land were being given 99-year leases.

"This position only applies to land acquired by the state under land reforms, and does not in any way invalidate or supersede other lawful forms of tenure which, in any case, are recognised and protected by the laws of the land," the government-controlled Herald newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, World Food Programme (WFP) head James Morris has postponed a trip to Zimbabwe, where he was expected to discuss the government's announcement that it no longer needed food aid.

A WFP spokesman said that there was simply a scheduling problem and that officials were busy attending an Aids conference and a cabinet meeting.

Government critics and aid agencies say that the disruption to the farm sector has led to massive hunger, with more than half the population needing food aid.

But the government says that harvests are now rising, with production of the staple food maize, more than doubling compared to the previous two years.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told state-run media that the government's land redistribution programme was responsible for the improvement.

The government blamed the food shortages of previous years on drought.