Back to Index

Nkomo, ministers in row over farms
The Herald
July 15, 2004

http://www.herald.co.zw/index.php?id=33819&pubdate=2004-07-15

There is a new wave of withdrawal letters from the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement to several Government ministers and Zanu-PF Politburo members purported to own more than one farm.

According to sources, the letters have caused a stir as virtually all the purported withdrawals involve farms which are either non-existent or were allocated to individuals other than the ministers or ruling party members.

An excited messenger on Tuesday allegedly moved from office to office in several Government ministries with a bundle of letters.

"The messenger was telling people that there was now drama because he was dishing out letters from (Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement) Minister John Nkomo to multiple farm owners," the sources said.

Several ministers returned from the Cabinet meeting to find the letters at their offices.

The messenger reportedly told some media people making enquiries that the letters were prepared by the Permanent Secretary for Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, Mr Simon Pazvakavambwa, working with one Edward Samuriwo and signed by Cde Nkomo.

The letters were written last month.

The latest letters followed revelations that some senior officials in the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement were writing letters withdrawing land allocated to new farmers and writing letters to white former owners of the farms advising them to return to the properties.

Observers yesterday noted that while the issue of multiple ownership was a serious one which needed to be addressed, the manner in which it was being done had thrown the whole process of rationalising the land reform programme and rectifying anomalies into disarray.

The observers said this was amid indications that the letters were not supported by facts on the ground and has given rise to allegations that the rationalisation programme has been politicised.

A source in the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement showed The Herald copies of several letters and said they were concerned "because there was now a clique which was throwing confusion into the land reform programme by misrepresenting facts that could be independently verified".

Some of the letters were written to the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Cde Ignatius Chombo, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cde Joseph Made, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Cde Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of Information and Publicity Professor Jonathan Moyo and the Minister of Transport and Communications Cde Christopher Mushohwe.

"You are informed that the following properties, which were either allocated to you or in which you are known to have an interest, are herewith withdrawn with immediate effect.

"The reason for withdrawal is that the allocations/interests are contrary to current policy," read the letters dated 28 June 2004.

Cde Chombo yesterday said he has only one farm, Allan Grange, in Raffingora, Zvimba District.

He denied ever having interest in Glenside Shingwiri and Shingwiri Extension, Chikomo Chimunga and North Banket, some of the farms the letter said he had interest in.

Cde Chombo said he used to rent Dorton Farm, another of the farms he is alleged to own. The farm is owned by a Mr Mutete.

"I moved out of that farm when it became policy that one man owns one farm," he said

Cde Chombo added that Glenside Shingwiri and Shingwiri Extension was allocated to other people, while Chikomo Chimunga Farm was allocated to 23 families.

Mashonaland West Governor Cde Nelson Samkange confirmed that Chikomo Chimunga Farm was allocated to the 23 families.

"The plots (at the farm) have been allocated to 23 beneficiaries and one farmhouse was reserved for the Zvimba North Constituency Office. (Cde Chombo's constituency)

"The constituency building is not located on a plot," said Cde Samkange.

Cde Chombo said as the Member of Parliament for the area, he applied for authority to use the farmhouse as a community centre.

"We are only using the farmhouse as a community centre/constituency office," he said.

Cde Chombo said he had never shown interest in North Banket Farm in Zvimba, adding that he had only one offer letter for Allan Grange Farm.

The letter to Prof Moyo claims that Lot 2 Dete Valley in Hwange and Little Connemara in Nyanga were being withdrawn from him.

Contacted for comment, he said the claims were a repeat of the same allegations that had appeared in the opposition Press of which litigation was pending.

He said the Hwange farm was withdrawn from him a long time ago and had been allocated to Mrs Jackie Mayers, who is his cousin.

"She is staying at the farm and she is entitled to it. She was officially allocated the farm and if they want to withdraw it, why don't they write to her?" said Prof Moyo.

He said claims that he had been allocated Little Connemara dramatised the malice behind the letters as no such land was ever acquired by the Government.

"It (the property) belongs to a trust that is run by Chris Andersen. It would require a Presidential proclamation to gazette the acquisition of the property.

"It was never offered to me and could never be offered to me. The whole thing is so preposterous that it is equivalent to saying I was allocated the Victoria Falls and now the Minister (of Lands) is withdrawing it.

"I cannot be allocated the Victoria Falls and no one else can be. So one if left wondering as to what is the motive or reason for purporting to be withdrawing something that has no offer letter and, therefore, something that I never accepted and never applied for.

"What I find annoying about this is that it is the same rubbish which the (opposition) MDC, through the likes of David Coltart, has been peddling over the last two years through the oppositional and apartheid Press and now you get this for reasons that are apparent."

Mr Coltart, the MP for Bulawayo South, in January tabled a list of ruling Zanu-PF MPs he claimed to be in possession of more than one farm.

Parliament has since appointed a committee to establish whether he was in breach of the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act for tabling the list.

Cde Mushohwe said the Nyamazura Farm in Mutare that he is purported to own was allocated to his son Prince, a grown-up man with his own family.

He said he has never heard of Game Valley, the other farm he is alleged to own.

Cde Mushohwe said he was allocated one farm, called Lorn and Haig Farm, in Mutare.

"This is just trying to tarnish the image of other people and character assassination," he said.

Cde Chinamasa is alleged to own a farm at Nyamazura in Mutare, but records show that the farm was allocated to his deceased brother in 1997.

The other farm, Rocklands, was allocated to his wife, who has since surrendered it.

Cde Made is alleged to own Cons of R/E Hellensvale Estate in Makoni and Causeway of Tara Hellensvale, also in Makoni.

But records show that he was allocated one farm on the property which has three subdivisions. The other plot was allocated to his brother Mr Ambrose Made, who works for the United Nations Development Programme, while the remainder belongs to a white farmer who used to own the entire property.

Observers said the letters have raised questions as to what is exactly going on with regard to land reform as hundreds of people were still on the waiting list and the confirmation of acquisition of farms taking long.

"This has become a political football," one observer noted.

Over the past four weeks, the opposition Press has been publishing stories claiming that some ministers had disobeyed President Mugabe by not surrendering excess farms.

However, the newspapers have not come up with evidence on their claims.

"It is incredible to think that after the Utete Report and Minister Nkomo's implementation task force the relevant authority does not know which land was allocated to who."

One of the recipients of the letters, who requested anonymity, said: "I just wish they had had the decency to ask me to explain the facts rather than proceed writing a letter making wild allegations without facts."

An officer in the Ministry of Lands added: "It is true there are factual problems with the letters, but the intention was to give the recipients an opportunity to correct the facts so that the matter is solved once and for all."

But another officer said: "This is pointless because there have been so many task forces whose task was to gather the facts."

Efforts to contact Cde Nkomo were fruitless at the time of going to press.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP