HARARE Citizens from 14 different countries have had their farms grabbed and given to President Robert Mugabes cronies according to a cabinet document obtained by The South African Sunday Times.This includes 19 farms owned by South Africans, 61 owned by Mauritians, 43 by Germans, 41 by the Dutch, 28 by Swiss citizens, 26 by Italians, and five by Americans. The document confirms that since 2000, 6214 farms of a total of 10.8-million hectares have been seized by the state. This is 70 per cent of the 15.5-million hectares of large commercial farmland that existed in 1980. Most of these farms were “awarded” to Mugabe’s family and comrades, many of whom now “own” multiple farms.
Once the pride of sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe’s farming sector has shrunk at an alarming rate. In 2000 Zimbabwe produced two million tons of maize, a figure that decrease to 450 000 tons last year. Tobacco production has plummeted from 244 000 tons to 40 000 tons. This is partly because the number of commercial farmers has shrunk radically from 4500 in 2000 to 400.