Zimbabwe to nationalize all land

Remember a few days ago, when there was a proposal to invite back white farmers to help ease the crisis in food?

Well, forget it...now ALL land will be nationalized.

The move will prevent white farmers reclaiming land Zimbabwe is to proceed with plans to nationalise all farmland, a ruling party official has said. Zanu-PF spokesman Nathan Shamuvarira said the party would amend the constitution so as to abolish rights to private ownership of land. Now, traditionally NO ONE owns the land, but the tribe apportions land to each family. This is why men work in town, but their wives are left home to farm...if the wives move to town, they lose their "right" to the land, and will not have any way to support themselves when they retire... He said the move would end "ceaseless litigation" by white farmers whose property has been expropriated by decree over the past five years. Well, there goes rule of law... Under the proposed new system, land would be leased for 99-year terms. All the former farmers can do after these amendments would be to contest the amount of compensation Nathan Shamuvarira The statement appeared in state media. "Through the amendments we are going to push for when parliament resumes sitting in June, all land will become state land, with farmers leasing it on a 99-year lease basis," Mr Shamuvarira said. "This will dispense with the ownership litigation process. "All the former farmers can do after these amendments would be to contest the amount of compensation." Zanu-PF has a large enough parliamentary majority to push through constitutional changes. However, some party officials who are themselves landowners are understood to be unhappy with the proposal. As I said earlier, in the Philippines, the land was given to our tenant farmers to own with land reform..as a result, they became prosperous.....but in Zimbabwe, often the farm and the equipment was given to government big shots...now they might have their land confiscated....not...wait a few days and you'll see a new law exempting the big shots from the law... The move comes after some white farmers won court cases against the government after contesting the expropriation of their land.

Nope. can't have rule of law..