 |
Zimbabwe Not Kicking out White Farmers: President
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe Sunday reiterated that his government is not kicking out the white farmers but just want to make land distribution equitable.
Speaking to reporters when he arrived at Chileka International Airport here for the annual summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Zimbabwean president said land dispute is still continuing in his country but his government is trying to resolve it in a humanitarian way.
"We're not kicking out the British, although they kick us out of their own country. But we're saying be balanced in your thinking, be just, be fair, be equitable. We want some of the land you're not using. That is all. That's the message," said Mugabe, who was met by Malawi President Bakili Muluzi together with other senior Malawi officials as well as SADC officials and hundreds of local residents.
Mugabe noted that the utilization rate of the land in his country is 30 percent, and 70 percent is not utilized.
"It's not permissible, when people are crowded. It (land reform) is an humanitarian program. Every one has got to have human heart, " he said.
He said he is solving the issue "by giving land to the people who own it and leaving those who are our guests, the settlers, some land but not as much land as they have."
"We have told them that no settler need go without land, but that they should not have as much land as thousands and thousands of hectares per person, per organization," he said.
"It's not permissible when our people are crowded. This is all we're saying. We're not kicking them out, which we can do by the way. But we're humanitarian and we're saying they should remain with land they can use at the moment," said Mugabe, who is also the last head of state arriving for the three-day summit beginning Sunday.
The heads of state and government of 10 out of the 14 SADC member countries have arrived for the summit, which is expected to focus on regional integration and SADC restructuring.
On the issue of food security, Mugabe, whose country coordinates the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Sector of the SADC, stressed the importance of hardworking and improving farming methods.
"Our people have got to be hardworking and should not just depend on handouts," he said, arguing that "so our strategies are the improvement of agriculture and the adoption of methods that are more productive. This is what we should aim at."
In This Section
|