“Prized farms are at the center of heated political infighting in Zimbabwe,” says the New York Times, with the tactic, used against white landowners in the past, now a lever in the struggle over succession of President Robert Mugabe. At the same time, political opponents are under threat of losing their land, the Mugabe administration promises reforms, including recognition of land ownership, to obtain financing from the international Monetary Fund.
“No one is safe,” said Temba Mliswa, a former member of the ruling party, said in the Times story. He was given possession in 2005 of a 2,000-acre farm, seized by the government from its white owner. Last year, the ruling party sent hundreds of youths to invade the land, he said, but they eventually left.
Farmers in Zimbabwe have suffered under drought this year and must cope with the global slump in commodity prices. Zimbabwe has proposed a system of 99-year leases on land. At present, no one holds clear title to land confiscated by the government. Thousand of poor black farmers were given parts of the seized farms but high-ranking officials got the best parcels or the best farms, said the Times. A former World Bank official was skeptical the Mugabe government would compensate displaced white farmers if a land reform plan is adopted.