Mugabe Moves Into Cities To Seize Land Owned By Whites

Independent (UK) ^ | 9-30-2003 | Basildon Peta

[blam]

Mugabe moves into cities to seize land owned by whites

By Basildon Peta, Southern Africa Correspondent
30 September 2003

President Robert Mugabe's government has launched a new wave of land seizures targeted at white-owned land in Zimbabwe's urban areas, in violation of his own controversial private property confiscation laws.

A government programme codenamed Operation Clean Sweep is reportedly underway despite statements by President Mugabe that his land seizures ended last year.

There has been no official confirmation of Operation Clean Sweep but an analysis of new lists of properties published in recent days by the state press show that vast swaths of land in or near urban areas have been earmarked for compulsory seizure.

In a notice published in recent days by the state-owned Herald newspaper, the permanent secretary for Local Government and National Housing, Vincent Hungwe, announced: "The Government has identified a number of peri-urban farms around major cities and towns of Zimbabwe for immediate acquisition to accommodate urban expansion.

"The identified farms will be acquired in terms of the law and held as state land."

The government has claimed it needs land for low-cost housing and other urban expansion projects. But opponents say the real aim is to consolidate illegal housing developments by so-called "war veterans" on private land in the cities.

The first such urban seizure was the 330 hectares Carrick Creagh Estate owned by the Newmarch family in the affluent Borrowdale suburb of Harare. Invaded two years ago by war veterans, the prime residential land has since been sold off in plots as part of the "Sally Mugabe Heights" housing scheme. The Newmarch family obtained a court order to halt the developments but the authorities have ignored it.

The Zimbabwe government has mostly completed its land seizure programme in farming areas outside city boundaries as set out in the Land Acquisition Act. Prime farms have since been confiscated by President Mugabe's cronies, forcing the Zimbabwe leader to set up an inquiry to establish the extent of abuse of the land reform programme by his own supporters.

Mr Mugabe has since ordered his supporters, some of whom had reportedly grabbed as many as five farms each, to surrender land and keep only one farm each. But many have registered the farms in the names of relatives.

Landowners - who asked not to be named for fear of retribution - said there was no law which allowed the government to seize urban land without paying immediate compensation.

One man whose estate has been designated for seizure said he was being pushed off his land to make way for a housing co-operative run by ruling party supporters who had illegally occupied his farm and partitioned it into residential plots for sale.

"The simple point is that there is no respect for property rights in this country. There is no respect for any form of tenure and you can be told you are no longer the owner of your property any time this suits the regime," said the farmer.

"It should surprise no one if this government starts seizing all white-owned houses one of these fine days."

Farming organisations in Zimbabwe say only about 400 farmers have been left on their properties out of an initial 4,500 before violent land seizures began in 2000. But the new wave of land seizures could push remaining private owners out. What baffles many farmers is that the land seizures have continued despite President Mugabe's announcement last year that they had ended.

The economic collapse in Zimbabwe, once the bread basket of southern Africa, has been blamed on the land seizure programme.

[blam]

Ping.

[per loin]

Any whites still living in Mugabe's madhouse are insane.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

This isn't nearly as terrible as Madelaine Toogood swatting her brat in a parking lot.

After all, the media gave us wall-to-wall 3D video documentation of that.

Of Mugabe they give us nothing.

If they don't show it on TV, it ain't happening.

[gunnedah]

Where is Coffee and the UN?

[KarlInOhio]

Where is Coffee and the UN?

Waiting in line to grab some prime real estate.

[Billthedrill]

Saw this one coming a mile away. It started to happen in Nicaragua, too - what is essentially a parasitical kleptocracy masquerading as an attempt to "redistribute" wealth in a more equitable manner under the banner of "social justice" has run out of things to steal in the countryside and has moved on to where the wealth is concentrated, the city.

What happens typically in this scenario is that organizations entrusted with law enforcement find that they cannot function against the thieves, and inasmuch as they are the other people in the country with guns and organization, join them. South Africa is still plagued with this. It happened in post-Soviet Russia. The longer Mugabe's games go on the more likely it will take his country down with him when he goes.

[Ohioan]

Just another "triumph" for the notion that one-man, one-vote "Democracy" will work in a Third World Nation without a homogeneous population. (See Democracy In The Third World.)

Mugabe may be more of a fanatic than some of the other winners of initial elections, but the result is more typical than anyone in our State Department--which pushed this nonsense--will admit.

William Flax

[gunnedah]

Is this the same UN our Democrats in Congress so eagerly want us reaching out to and seeking their help?
Heil Hitlery!

[tracer]

Let the societal blossoming begin!!

[Dr.Zoidberg]

This is a common third world scenario. Call me racist if you want, but uncivilized peoples are not capable of self rule on any level above that of tribal/extended family. South Africa, Rhodesia, Algeria, DRot Congo, Ethiopia, etc. And that's just on the african continent. Head to south america and you can get a list longer than your arm.

Mugabe is playing true to type and until someone kills him nothing will change. When that happens, another just as bad will fill the void and the brutality and evil will continue, but aimed at another supposed wrong that needs righting. These and all other third world nations need to be pacified and then civilized for thier own good and that of the world.

Fire at Will. ;-)

[sgtbono2002]

No white should even visit there , much less live there.

[Clive]

-

[Clive]

There were about 50,000 whites in Zim in 2000 when the Third Chimurenga started.

There are about 30,000 now.

Meanwhile the population of Zim has declined by about 1 million, mainly in a quiet volkerwanderung little noticed and even less remarked Europe or North America.

[blam]

Leaving seems to be the only solution.

[Travis McGee]

That's the plot of my next novel, set in "Nuevo Mexico" after the "Solo Espanol" law is passed, and "land reform" gets underway. Confiscatory taxes will be levied on properties over 1,000 acres, and a Zimbabwe-like frenzy to "return what was stolen" mentality takes over.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"It should surprise no one if this government starts seizing all white-owned houses one of these fine days."

Bump!

December 5, 2001 - Zimbabwe court rules seizing of white-owned land legal

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Civilized, not given to acts of mass murder simply because your targets aren't of your racial, social, or ethnic background. Capable of living in close contact with those not of your tribe without attacking them with machetes. Desiring peace and prosperity for ones own children without using them as idiot-bombs. Sounds pretty straight forward to me.

I think the Japanese are an extremely civilized people, so are the Egyptians for the most part, the peoples of India even with their caste system tend to get along quite well.

Are any of those Europeans? I think not. Whether you want to admit it or not though, those evil Europeans have done more to advance mankind than any other group on the planet. Sure, there are some places in the old country that don't quite make it either, but in most cases it's because of mad men grabbing power or outsiders trying to take over.

Use a small bit of reason before making silly statements. No one can possibly think the greater part of Africa, South America or the Middle East is even remotely capable of being considered civilized. There are exceptions, but few and rare in the extreme.

And before you make absurd assumptions, I'm Turkish and Cherokee Indian. What some people call Melungeon with a tiny bit of German for flavor.

[Dante3]

bttt