Nkomo seeks to end "confusion" in land reform

The Zimbabwe government has suspended the acqusition of farms and the issuing of further land offer letters in a move it says is aimed at cleaning up confusion in the land reform exercise. John Nkomo, special affairs minister responsible for the land reform programme, said in interviews published in local newspapers that he would also investigate compliance with the government's one-man one-farm policy. He was speaking for the first time on his new mandate since being appointed to the new ministry of land reform and resettlement in a cabinet reshuffle early this month. "We have suspended the gazetting of farms and the issuing of offer letters as a starting point towards cleaning up the whole process of land reform, which, I would say, has been marred by confusion," Nkomo was quoted as saying. "This will be the position until we are satisfied with progress on the ground." Before his appointment to the new ministry, Nkomo was minister of special affairs heading a presidential enquiry into serious irregularities in land reform. He was charged with following up on the recommendations of a land audit commission led by Charles Utete. The Utete commission's report, issued late last year, revealed serious violations of the one-man one-farm policy by top government and ruling party officials, which, in some cases, had disenfranchised the small-scale farmers that land reform was supposed to benefit. "Our policy on land ownership is clear: it is one-man one-farm, and it has to be applied to all the sons and daughters of Zimbabwe, regardless of race. The issue of farm sizes has to be addressed as well. We will be very strict on these issues," said Nkomo. His ministry would also take steps to prevent cheating by individuals using front men to register for land. In line with a recommendation by the Utete commission, the new ministry is to set up a land board, whose duties would include monitoring land redistribution and assessing the use of land, with a view to reposessing derelict or underutilised hectarage. Under the new system, each of the country's 10 provinces will have an inventory book detailing and accounting for its land and land use. But Renson Gasela, opposition Movement for Democratic Change shadow minister for lands and agriculture, said that while it was encouraging for the government to admit the "chaos" in its land reform programme, it had benefited powerful interests within the government and party. "Any attempts at sanitising this chaos will see him [Nkomo] step on the toes of powerful politicians who will not let go of the land," Gasela alleged. "The national land board being proposed by the minister will not be effective. Nkomo's ministry has no structures; hoping that he will succeed in doing all he has promised will depend on whether he builds up those monitoring structures, but it will not be done in the short term - certainly not before the elections next year," said Gasela. Zimbabwe's land reform process has been criticised for its lack of transparency by Western donors and, with the government unable to provide adequate support to the new farmers, has contributed to a steep fall in agricultural production. According to the Utete report, 4.2 million hectares have been resettled by 127,192 small-scale farmers, while 2.1 million hectares have been distributed to 7,260 commercial farmers. More details