Mutasa backed A2 farmers grabbing more land in the lowveld

By Tererai Karimakwenda
24 May 2006

Farmers in the sugar growing regions of Chiredzi and Chipinge in the lowveld area of Zimbabwe have come under intense pressure by resettled farmers to vacate their properties. The so-called A2 farmers are reportedly grabbing more land on the commercial farms on which they were given plots and intimidating farmers and their workers without any fear of being prosecuted. Chiredzi farmer Gerry Whitehead told us the impunity the A2s enjoy is largely due to the support they have from the Land Resettlement Minister Didymus Mutasa. Whitehead said Mutasa’s role is a silent one but the A2s brag about it when harassing farmers. According to Whitehead this has pitted Mutasa against vice president Joyce Mujuru who is believed to be against the forced evictions.

Farmers in Chiredzi and Chipinge say that the A2s have become very aggressive and there seems to be a feverish effort to grab as much land as possible. Whitehead described it as a “sense of panic”. He said many people including ZANU-PF supporters in the communal lands are suffering and they are turning around and saying they’ve had enough. They then grab some land near to them and in no time begin to order the farm owner to get out of his house and leave without his equipment and personal property. Whitehead said many commercial farmers were left with about 60 hectares of land after A2s were settled on their land. That has now been reduced to 20 hectares. In addition, the A2s now also want the main house, the equipment and in some cases personal property.

Whitehead said at a meeting of the National Lands Committees last week, lands officials urged the government to introduce new laws that would make it easier for A2s to take farming equipment from the owners without paying any compensation. The officials complained that it takes too long to go through the courts to get the equipment and there was too much bureaucracy. Whitehead said he was shocked by this report. He said: “Now they want to legalise the looting of farm equipment.”