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| July Moyo addresses the Zanu PF Masvingo PCC on Sept 06 |
Upenyu Chaota
The Minister of Local Government and Zanu PF politburo member July Moyo has allayed
fears that there will be land reversal after the government announced that they
will return some farms, which were protected under the Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPA), to the former owners.
Moyo
said that only 37 farms were protected under BIPPA and these will be the ones
to be returned back to their former owners.
The
pronouncement by the government was largely viewed by many as the first step
towards land reversal which prompted Zanu PF to deploy highly powered
delegations to provinces to clarify and iron out the complexities.
Addressing
the Zanu PF Masvingo Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting last
weekend, Moyo said that the gains of the revolution will never be reversed but
they are largely compensating former farm owners while very few will be
returned.
“We
signed agreements with countries we had cordial relations with that guaranteed
that we will never take their investments but during the land reform, we
grabbed all land without putting into consideration the agreements.
“We had
given assurances to other farmers that their investments were safe and
protected but we went on to dishonor our promises. We grabbed the farms. There
are only 37 farms protected under BIPPA and these are the ones we are going to
return.
“This
cannot be reversal,” said Moyo.
He said
they are being guided by the Constitution which he said the whole country
agreed to that there shall be compensation of farms.
Moyo
said if there are people in the 37 farms, the government will relocate them to
other areas.
“We
agreed to this in the constitution and we are simply following what is in the
supreme law of the land.
“Our
people who are in the said farms will be relocated to other areas. We have to
face the problem head on and not sweep it under the carpet.
“The
rest of white farmers are going to be compensated for the improvements and not
on land. That we will never do. If they want compensation for land they should
go to their queen who send them here,” said Moyo.
The
compensation of former farm owners is covered in section 295 of the
constitution of Zimbabwe. There are three categories of farm owners eligible
for compensation in different forms.
Section
295 (1) provides that indigenous Zimbabweans who lost their land must be compensated
for the land and developments thereon.
Section
295 (2) stipulates that those whose land was covered by BIPPAs and bilateral
investment treaties (BITs) are entitled to compensation for the land and
developments thereon.
Section
295 (3) compels the Government to compensate those not covered in Subsection 1
and 2 for improvements on the land only.
