SA farmers in Zim to receive no protection from own government

By Alex Bell
13 November 2009

A new bilateral investment protection treaty between Zimbabwe and South Africa, that is set to be signed later this month, will exclude farms that were expropriated by the Robert Mugabe regime during his chaotic land ‘reform’ programme.

This was revealed by South African Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies, who was answering questions by South Africa’s Business Day newspaper about the contentious land clause in the new agreement. Davies said the bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe would provide security for
any South African investor in any sector, including agriculture, from now
on. He said South Africa wanted to create certainty for investments in Zimbabwe that would also help with its economic recovery, without reopening ‘old wounds’.

But Davies continued that it would have been impossible to negotiate this agreement with a ‘retrospective clause’, with regards to expropriated land, saying South Africa believed it was necessary to contribute to stabilising the economy in Zimbabwe, which would also contribute to political stability.
The signing of the compromise agreement comes amid the land wrangle between South African farmer Louis Fick and Deputy Reserve Bank Governor Edward Mashiringwani.

Mashiringwani has for months led a campaign of intimidation against Friedawil farm’s legal owner Louis Fick, and several weeks ago moved on to the farm with 15 armed guards, forcing Fick and most of his staff to leave. Fick, who now no longer has access to his land, has been trying in vain to secure a court order for his land to be returned to him. Much of his staff meanwhile, who have stayed on to try and keep the farm’s numerous animals fed and watered, have faced increasing intimidation and violence. The thugs on the land have also repeatedly used tactics of extreme cruelty against the farm’s pigs and crocodiles to try and force Fick to give up the farm.

Fick has received no assistance from the police, the SPCA or even from his own government, despite desperate appeals to the South African embassy for intervention. Fick is one of 79 farmers who took their case to the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek last year, and his farm is meant to be protected by the Tribunal’s ruling. The ruling was meant to ensure that the Zimbabwe government protected the farmers from future land invasions, but ZANU PF has refused to abide by the ruling, relentlessly harassing farmers and their workers across the country. The government was this year charged with contempt for ignoring the earlier ruling, but in response, the government announced it no longer recognises the Tribunal.

But neither the South African government nor the South African embassy has made any move to assist Fick. Ambassador Mlungisi Makalima has also remained unavailable for interviews, despite numerous attempts by SW Radio Africa to reach him.

Last year, a Pretoria judge took the South African government to task for not protecting the rights of a citizen whose farm was taken over in the so-called land ‘reform’ programme. Free State farmer Crawford von Abo won his court battle against the then President Thabo Mbeki, the Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa, to get compensation from the South African government for not acting on his behalf to protect his rights to his land. Judge Bill Prinsloo noted that the government’s excuses for lack of action over the previous six years had been ‘feeble’ and pointed out that Germany, France and Denmark had intervened successfully of behalf of their citizens who owned agricultural land in Zimbabwe.

But this new compromise investment agreement, set to be signed at the end of the month, means farmers like Fick will not be able to depend on their own government for protection.