Government breaks off dialogue with white farmers

The Zimbabwean government broke off dialogue on land reform with the country’s white farmers on Monday, accusing them of deceit in the protracted negotiations, PANA reported. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo said the farmers, who were opposed to the government’s controversial land reform programme, used the negotiations as a cover to thwart the authorities’ plans.

The farmers, who own over 70 percent of Zimbabwe’s arable land, have sued the government in court through their representative body - the Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) - to stop it from seizing and re-distributing their farms to landless peasants. “By continuing to talk to the CFU, we risk not being taken seriously and no government wants to take that risk. We are a serious government,” Moyo said.

He accused the farmers of being part of an external anti-government publicity campaign, which had resulted in most international donors cutting off aid to the country. It was formerly the farmers who repeatedly broke off talks on land reform with the government, preferring instead to take the authorities to court to resolve the matter.