HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's remaining white farmers will now get 99-year land leases according to a new government policy that marks a dramatic change from widespread evictions of whites from farms.
Farai Mutsaka
FILE -- In this Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 file photo farmer Darryn Smart, left, and his family are welcomed back to their farm, Lesbury, by workers and community members in Tandi, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's remaining white farmers will now get 99-year land leases, according to a new government policy implemented Thursday Feb.1, 2018, marking a dramatic change from recent actions in which whites were evicted from farms. (AP Photo/Farai Musaka, File)
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President Emmerson Mnangagwa is breaking away from the seizure of thousands of white-owned farms carried out by his predecessor and mentor Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November under military pressure. The new policy will give remaining white farmers new security from expropriations.
The lands ministry has instructed its provincial officers that the policy should be implemented "with immediate effect," according to a copy of the directive seen by The Associated Press.
Mnangagwa's move has been welcomed by many white farmers, who see it as a step toward restoring their involvement in Zimbabwe's agriculture.
"This is what we have been hoping for," said Peter Steyl, president of the Commerical Farmers Union. "Many of our members are ready to start farming again. The 99-year leases will bring a certainty that had been eroded by the invasions. There is a lot of technical expertise that had been idle. Bringing back evicted farmers will help unlock that much-
Zimbabwe to issue 99-year leases to remaining white farmers
Farai Mutsaka
FILE -- In this Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 file photo farmer Darryn Smart, left, and his family are welcomed back to their farm, Lesbury, by workers and community members in Tandi, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's remaining white farmers will now get 99-year land leases, according to a new government policy implemented Thursday Feb.1, 2018, marking a dramatic change from recent actions in which whites were evicted from farms. (AP Photo/Farai Musaka, File)
APImages.com More photos »
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is breaking away from the seizure of thousands of white-owned farms carried out by his predecessor and mentor Robert Mugabe, who resigned in November under military pressure. The new policy will give remaining white farmers new security from expropriations.
The lands ministry has instructed its provincial officers that the policy should be implemented "with immediate effect," according to a copy of the directive seen by The Associated Press.
Mnangagwa's move has been welcomed by many white farmers, who see it as a step toward restoring their involvement in Zimbabwe's agriculture.
"This is what we have been hoping for," said Peter Steyl, president of the Commerical Farmers Union. "Many of our members are ready to start farming again. The 99-year leases will bring a certainty that had been eroded by the invasions. There is a lot of technical expertise that had been idle. Bringing back evicted farmers will help unlock that much-
Zimbabwe to issue 99-year leases to remaining white farmers
What a clusterfukk. I knew when Mugabe left this would be the result.
