Thursday, October 13, 2005

Lawlessness

LINK
LONDON - After years of breaking its own laws, corrupting its judiciary and flagrantly ignoring orders from its Supreme Court, the Zimbabwe government is now cocking a snook at the world by tearing up international agreements and destroying property rights.
The latest pronouncements by state security minister, Didymus Mutasa – who is also in charge of land redistribution – have set alarm bells ringing in South Africa, which has vast commercial interests in Zimbabwe. ..

Which is why China won't help their newfound friend with farm production: LINK
HARARE – China has turned down an offer by President Robert Mugabe’s government to take over farms seized from whites apparently because Beijing feared there was no guarantee that such an investment would be secure in the long term, authoritative sources said.
Zimbabwe has since last April attempted to hammer a joint-venture deal with China that would enable resource-rich farmers from the Asian giant to enter into partnerships with the Harare government to farm land seized from whites and help resuscitate the southern African country’s collapsed agricultural sector.
But sources said China has developed cold feet on the planned deal worried by Harare’s ever shifting land laws and policies in particular a controversial constitutional amendment last month that virtually nationalises all agricultural land.
“There is unlikely to be a deal. The government was desperate to bring the Chinese over, but complications have arisen in light of the new laws nationalising farmland,” said a senior official in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Agriculture, who is privy to the negotiations between Harare and Beijing. ...

And, of course, we all know that the land is being given to destitute farmers ---not LINK

CHINHOYI – About 78 families which have been ordered off Hunyani Farm in Chinhoyi town about 120km north-west of the capital Harare are living in fear after the government allegedly deployed state security agents on the farm.
The families, who occupied the farm at the height of farm invasions five years ago, were last week served with notices to vacate the farm because the government says it wants to build an agricultural research station at the farm.
Some of the families told ZimOnline the government had followed up by deploying agents of its dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to monitor movements at the farm.
The CIO agents, accused by church and human rights groups of torturing and murdering perceived government opponents, are harassing the families and threatening them with unspecified punishment if they do not vacate the farm....
Several families who seized white farms often with direct encouragement from President Robert Mugabe and his top officials have been thrown off some of the farms in most cases to pave way for senior politicians many of whom have grabbed up to six or more farms each.
Mugabe has on rare occasions admitted some of his senior lieutenants corruptly kept several of the best white farms for themselves...

No comments:

 
Free hit counters
Free hit counters