Zimbabwe -- Farm evictions suspended pending talks

GOVERNMENT will not proceed with evictions of farmers following the resumption of dialogue between the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) and the Land Taskforce led by Vice-President Joseph Msika, the Zimbabwe Independent was told this week.

At a meeting held between the CFU, Msika and Agriculture minister Joseph Made last Thursday, it was resolved that government would wait for the findings of the land audit committee before any more evictions took place.

While in Cuba last month, President Robert Mugabe said he would not accede to farmers' request for a meeting with him saying they should deal with Msika instead.

CFU vice-president (commodities) Doug Taylor-Freeme said last week's meeting had broken the ice and given the two parties an opportunity to re-open dialogue.

"Mass evictions will not be effected until results of the audit committee have been tabled," Taylor-Freeme said.

"The report will give government the exact situation on the ground. The whole agriculture sector is stagnant and will not move forward when there is no clarity."

Taylor-Freeme said they expect the report to clear the confusion caused by the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act leaving vast tracts of land lying idle.

"The majority of the new farmers have not taken up their allocated pieces of land because of lack of incentives," he said.

At least 2 500 farmers who were served with Section 8 orders as at May 10 were expected to vacate their properties next week with or without compensation for developments on their farms.

Banks have rebuffed government's attempt to finance the new farmers to the tune of $76 billion required this season because of lack of clarity and security.

Two land audit committee teams led by Made and Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo started tours to assess the progress of the land reform programme at the beginning of July. The teams have so far visited seven provinces.

The teams are scheduled to meet in Harare today to compile a final report that will be handed over to President Mugabe early next week. The audit committee has so far realised that the majority of the people allocated land under model A2 have not yet taken up their plots.

Air Vice-Marshal Henry Muchena, leader of one of the audit committees, was this week quoted as saying: "People who have been offered land under model A2 are taking too long to take up their plots, which might force government to re- possess the land."

Chombo was quoted yesterday in the Herald saying in Matabeleland North only 117 model A2 plots had been occupied out of a possible 2 259.

The government and commercial farmers are headed for yet another showdown, this time over the compensation of farm labourers, the Independent has established.

Government last week promulgated Statutory Instrument 6 of 2002, compelling farmers whose properties have been compulsorily acquired to pay their labourers steep retrenchment packages.

Commercial Farmers Union president Collin Cloete said farmers were not consulted on the issue.

"Minister for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare July Moyo did not consult us on the issue of compensation," said Cloete.

He said farmers did not have the money required to pay the workers. "The money to pay the retrenchment packages runs into millions of dollars. Our understanding of the legal instrument is that the farmers have to pay the money after being compensated by the government."

Cloete said farmers were, however, not being allowed to access their compensation first.

"The Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions has been demanding money from our members even before they get compensation. The police have not helped either as they have refused to arrest those extorting money from farmers arguing that it is a political issue," he said.

The ZFTU has so far allegedly extorted nearly $3 billion from commercial farmers claiming to be negotiating farm labourers' severance packages.

The Statutory Instrument states that farmers must pay a severance package equivalent to the full wages of the employee for a period of three months prior to the date of termination of employment and the wages in lieu of notice under the contract of employment or agricultural industry agreement.

The worker is entitled to an amount equivalent to twice the employee's current monthly wage for each completed year of continuous service with the employer and an amount of $5 000 in respect of the relocation of the employee.

Farmers are also supposed to pay a gratuity and the cash equivalent of any leave accumulated by the employee in the year in which the termination of employment occurred.

Meanwhile, hundreds of white commercial farmers are said to be preparing to relocate to Uganda. The Ugandan Agriculture minister Dr Kisamba Mugerwa this week described the relocation of the Zimbabweans as a positive step in line with his government's standing position of attracting investors.

"Uganda needs people like these who have access to the export market," said Mugerwa in a newspaper report.

"They can establish the nucleus for smaller farmers to act as outgrowers. We have land that was formerly farmed by the government that they can use. This land will not be sold to them but leased for them to cultivate," said Mugerwa.

Meanwhile, the winter crop on much of the land did not get planted and crop on much of the land that did get planted did not get tended.

And the time is fast approaching when the land must be prepared for the summer planting.

Farming is not a business in which production can be stopped and started like an automobile assembly line.

Meanwhile, it looks like Uganda is following Mozambique's example and is seeking out Zim commercial farmers to take advantage of their expertise by leasing them land. It appears that both have come to the realization that covernment run and collective farming doesn't produce the agricultural surplus that independent and entrepreneural commercial farming does.

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