via Hundreds evicted in fresh Mazowe farm seizures | SW Radio Africa March 17, 2014
Hundreds of people in the Mazowe district of Mashonaland Central have been left homeless after police evicted them from the Spelenken Farm this weekend, to make way for an unnamed beneficiary.
According to the Standard newspaper, police arrived at the farm as early as 4am on Saturday and by 2pm had loaded up the farm settlers onto police lorries and driven them to unknown destinations.
“Although the identity of the new owner who is set to take over the farm could not be ascertained, it was evident that it was a very important person considering the heavy presence of police and intelligence officers,” the Standard reported.
The farm is not far from where First Lady Grace Mugabe has been busy extending her land claims; land she says is being used to extend an orphanage she started in recent years. She has also planned to build a school on the seized tracts of land.
Minister of State for Mashonaland Central, Martin Dinha, last year promised to allocate more land to the First Lady in the area to expand her projects.
“The land is no longer sufficient to sustain the projects the First Lady has on her sleeves. We are working on the papers to stretch the land so that she can have more land to do her projects. Some people might say ‘The First Lady is greedy, why does she want more land?’, but we are saying it is justified for her to have more land,” Dinha said.
Last October Grace evicted a group of small-scale miners from a piece of land that forms part of Manzou Game Park also in Mazowe. Gushungo holdings, a business empire controlled by the first lady, kicked out 11 small-scale miners operating on 22 hectares of land along the Mazowe river. SW Radio Africa understands that the area is rich in gold deposits.
Then in January this year Grace grabbed more land belonging to Interfresh’s Mazoe Citrus Estate, seizing a further 800 hectares in addition to the 1,600 hectares she grabbed last year from Interfresh, on the pretext that she was expanding her orphanage. Interfresh has since stated that it’s operations have been left under threat by the continued seizure of its land, actions which have resulted in the breakdown of negotiations with its financial partners.
The Mugabe family holds the most land in Zimbabwe, which has still not recovered from the land grab campaign that saw profitable commercial land being seized, often violently, in the name of ‘reform’. The best, most profitable farms were handed, to top ZANU PF officials and cronies. But the majority of these farms have been left unutilised and for over a decade Zimbabwe has relied on food aid to supports millions of hungry people. The land seizures have also continued this year, over a decade since the campaign began.
Economist John Robertson told SW Radio Africa that until property rights are protected in Zimbabwe, there will never be any economic recovery.
“The long term investments of any country depend on property rights. It gives them the confidence to make big expenditure commitments, and when they don’t have that confidence, development stops,” Robertson said.
He said this was evident in Zimbabwe, where investor confidence is very low and little to no local production of exportable goods is taking place.
“This is what we’ve seen in recent years here. We’ve gone backwards, and it’s because of the damage done to property rights,” Robertson said.
COMMENTS
What tribe is doing these seizures.
The Mugabe Tribe
“Economist John Robertson told SW Radio Africa that until property rights are protected in Zimbabwe, there will never be any economic recovery.”
True. Problem is, ZANUPF has proven that “property rights” depends on which way the wind is blowing… so, truth of the matter is there will never be any economic recovery as long as ZANUPF has any control.
Receivers of stolen property should not complain when they in turn are stolen from.
I say again, who holds the Title Deeds?
Who is the unknown beneficiary??? This is what awaits, “Woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, also houses and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house…..Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold against this family I am devising disaster from which you cannot remove you necks.” Micah 2:1-3
You reap what you sow. As long as theft dishonesty and selfishness continues zimbabwe will.suffer. Zimbabwean’s today suffer like the israelites in Egypt. Let’s all join together andsay to these cruel people in charge let our people free..
How dare anyone refer to the Jezebel as a first lady! This harlot is neither first nor lady.
Harlot is the perpetrator of evil, the destroyer of innocents, the thief in the night.
It deserves to sleep with that filthy, ugly, and most odorous of simians, in OUR Beloved State House, illegally.
Can someone tell me-Did Mugabe really studied Economics? Who has seen that degree?
A handmaid when she reigneth is confusion to the end.