via Avail land to all citizens, Renewal Team New Zimbabwe 19/01/2015
IN a clear departure from the original MDC’ stance on the controversial land reform exercise the Renewal Team has urged government to avail land to all citizens without regard to their political affiliation.
The political outfit, currently led by former National Healing co-minister Sekai Holland, also wants those given land to be guaranteed of “security of tenure”.
The party’s leadership last week held a two-day strategic workshop in Harare where it discussed a number of internal issues and the many challenges affecting the people of Zimbabwe.
“The Renewal Team believes that every Zimbabwean must benefit from the land and indeed any other natural resources in Zimbabwe. As such, the land reform in its totality is irreversible. This latest position was also proposed by Zimbabweans during the national constitutional process,” said the party in a subsequent statement.
This stance is a clear departure from the united MDC’s calls for a boycott of the violent land redistribution exercise which displaced thousands of people and claimed many lives.
“The new priority is now on ensuring that the resettled Zimbabweans are guaranteed of security of land tenure so as to propel development and for the farmers to have access to credit to improve on productivity. The new farmers must be assisted in accessing credit, inputs and in marketing of their produce,” the statement said.
“On indigenisation, the leadership noted that the 51 percent local ownership structure is elitist in that it can only be accessed by those who are already rich and will be able to buy shares in targeted companies”.
Zanu PF has continued to reject the idea of providing security of tenure to new farmers arguing this would sabotage its controversial exercise and create a land market that will bring back white farmers through the “back door”.
The Renewal Team, currently in negotiations towards re-unification with another splinter formation of the MDC led by former Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, also resolved to push ahead with the planned merger.
Both parties hope to form a United MDC “to confront the dictatorship” and to “uphold values and principles made at the formation of the party in 1999” when the original MDC was formed before the two splits in 2005 and last year.
The group also resolved to “stay away from all electoral processes” until the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) provides a voters roll and implements changes to the Electoral Act.
COMMENTS
Yes but are all citizens farmers?
The Constitution should have had a clause in it identifying all Zimbabweans their right to land. After all that is what the war was all about. Instead we see people pretending to not know anything . I remember Baba Nkomo saying this to all at the time and for those that do not know Baba Nkomo bought land for other races . This clown Mugabe simply defaulted to suit his ego. So MDC try to get your act in order instead of pussy footing around as well.
Quite refreshing to see opposition coming to their senses. Now go further and propound your policies and keep the ruling party on its toes. Corruption and economic development should be top on your agenda.
The era of political dominance by liberation parties is unfortunately coming to an end. From 2018 Zimbabwe politics will be dominated by people – centred policies and both ZANU PF and the opposition should reposition themselves to this effect.