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Statement to all agricultural property owners and commercial farmers
Justice for Agriculture (JAG) Zimbabwe
August 01, 2005

Further to our last statement warning property owners and commercial farmers about the dangers inherent in trading-in freehold title for 99-year leases as seems to be Government of Zimbabwe's stated way forward for agricultural land in Zimbabwe. The JAG Trust felt it prudent to action an objective economic overview of freehold title versus leasehold title. The Trust asked independent and highly respected economist, John Robertson, to prepare a short paper on the pros and cons.

With this likely to be a hot topic for debate at CFU's Congress tomorrow, and GOZ stated intention of making constitutional changes as gazetted mid last month, publication of this short paper is timeous.

The carrot and stick strategy designed by GOZ to seduce farmers voluntarily down this road, which includes access to cheap RBZ finance (as the carrot), has been hardly subtle. Farmers are warned to exercise extreme caution when it comes to negotiations that might infringe or possibly compromise their title deeds and thereby severely prejudice compensation and damages claims.

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