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Zimbabwean Govt., White Farmers Deadlocked Over Land
The Zimbabwean government and the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) have failed to reach a consensus on the implementation of the land reform program, prompting the Supreme Court Wednesday to proceed with deliberations on the matter, official newspaper The Herald reported on Thursday.
The constitutional appeal, in which the government was seeking the continuation of the present land acquisition process while the court decides on issues specified on its earlier interdict, was postponed last week to allow the CFU to explore dialogue with the government.
However, senior counsel advocate Adrian de Bourbon, appearing for the farmers, Wednesday told the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court that no progress had been made during a meeting between the CFU and the government and that all doors on further negotiations with other government officials had been closed.
The meeting was held on Monday this week, during which CFU Director David Hasluck met Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa and Deputy Attorney General Bharat Patel, who was representing the government in the suit.
Bourbon said it had been the CFU's intention to pursue discussions that could lead to the implementation of the Abuja agreement and engage the government in domestic dialogue as advised by the heads of state of the Southern African Development Community.
Commenting on the breakdown of the dialogue, Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo said the government was willing to engage in dialogue on the matter, as the dialogue was aimed at moving land reforms forward and not to derail or delay it.
The Supreme Court Wednesday reserved its judgment following the continuation of a lawsuit which was being opposed by the CFU.
In its suit, the government was seeking an interim relief allowing it to continue acquiring land while the court decided on whether or not issues raised on the interdict had been fulfilled.
The interdict prohibited the government from acquiring land until it satisfied the Supreme Court that law and order had been restored at commercial farms and that a workable land reform program had been produced.
It was raised during the hearing that, relying on that interdict, the Administrative Court, which deals with the applications for land, had been declining to confirm acquisition orders, adversely affecting land reform.
While admitting that there were some incidents of violence at the farms, Patel said the general picture was not as what the CFU would want the court to believe.
The extent of violence, he said, was minimal as compared to the scale of occupations involved.
Brokered by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Zimbabwe and Britain signed an agreement in Abuja on September 6, with the Britons agreeing to support the fast track land resettlement program in Zimbabwe by compensating farmers whose farms had been designated for the program, while Zimbabwe agreed to maintain the rule of law during the exercise by not allowing further farms occupations.
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