Zimbabwe denies land nationalisation

Zimbabwe denies land nationalisation

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By Agencies

ZIMBABWE denied today it planned to nationalise all farmland in the country, saying this only applied to plots seized from whites under its controversial land reforms.

The official Herald newspaper quoted John Nkomo, the land reform and resettlement minister, last week as saying the government had stepped up efforts to acquire more productive farmland with the aim of nationalising all of it.

The report did not give a schedule for the programme but said President Robert Mugabe's government would issue 99 year leases for farmland and 25 year leases for wildlife and conservation areas.

Zimbabwe's Information Ministry issued a statement today clarifying the policy.

"It is emphasised that 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," the ministry said.

"There has not been any change of government policy or law in respect of land tenure and ownership."

Mugabe's government has forced about two thirds of Zimbabwe's 4 500 white commercial farmers off their land over the past four years under a drive to redistribute the plots among land less blacks, drawing international condemnation.

Critics blame the programme for a sharp decline in farm output over the past four years which has led to food shortages affecting millions of Zimbabwe, but the government points largely to drought.

Mugabe defends the programme as necessary to restore land to blacks dispossessed when Britain colonised the country over a century ago and white farmers took the best farmland. But critics say the land reforms have been chaotic and have largely benefited Zimbabwe's political elite rather than the most needy.

Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, says local and international opponents of the land seizures have sabotaged Zimbabwe's economy, leading to record inflation and unemployment as well as chronic foreign currency and fuel shortages. - Reuters
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