Ben Freeth, who has repeatedly been on the receiving end of violence
and intimidation by land invaders, has written a heartfelt letter to
the Prime Minister, urging him to ensure the safety of commercial
farmers. In the letter Freeth argues that the country cannot be rebuilt
without the success of agriculture, which he calls the engine that
will drive Zimbabwe towards change.
Freeth also explained
that so far there has been no open policy decision of support from the
MDC over last year's SADC Tribunal ruling, which was set to protect
commercial farmers from future invasions. However, many of these SADC
Tribunal protected' farmers and farm workers have since been invaded,
prosecuted, stopped from farming and thrown out of their homes, all
with State assistance. Freeth told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that
there needs to be a clear statement by the Prime Minister over the SADC
ruling and the MDC's support of it, if the farm invasions are to stop.
If
the farm invasions continue and farms are left to become unproductive,
tens of thousands of people will be left homeless and without food,
Freeth explained. One day there won't be foreign donors pumping money
into Zimbabwe because they will have had enough of funding a failed
country. What then?
Most potential foreign donors, whose cash
is vital to restoring the country's devastated economy, want to see the
farm invasions cease before committing funds towards the US$5 billion
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said is needed to restore basic
government functions. However, in the days since the new power-sharing
Government between the MDC and ZANU PF was formed last month, the land
seizures have escalated to the point where more than 100 farmers face
prosecution and more than 80 farms have been seized. This means hardly
there are hardly any farms left to produce food.
An interim
economic blueprint that was released last Thursday has, among other
things, demanded an immediate halt to the fresh wave of farm
disruptions, in an effort to kick-start the country's economy. But no
clear plan of action as to how this is going to be enforced has been
detailed.
The offensive against the farmers started just days
before Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister last month and
pressure on farmers to vacate their land has been increasing ever
since. Many farmers have now been forced into hiding as the campaign
continues – a clear violation of the unity deal between the MDC and
ZANU PF, which calls for the return of the rule of law and which also
says that farmers should be encouraged to produce food.
SWRadio Africa
Post published in: News