A union official said the newly formed Agricultural Recovery and Compensation Committee replaces the Farmers In Touch committee (FIT) which has until now dealt with land issues.
After some discussion and a vote, it was decided to change the name of FIT to ARAC or Agricultural Recovery and Compensation. It was acknowledged that the organization has been largely ineffective in representing farmers off the land, the official said.
The union is also in the process of compiling a database of its members who have lost their properties since the controversial land reform programme started 10 years ago. It has engaged a private consultancy Valcon to carry out the compilation which is important for purposes of coming up with valuation of properties lost.
At least 3 800 farmers have so far registered on the database out of an estimated 4 000 whose properties were compulsorily acquired by the government. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has insisted that his government has no obligation to compensate white commercial farmers who lost their land during the chaotic land reform programme started in 2000.
The long-serving leader, who has used the often-violent land reforms to appease his restive supporters, says the responsibility to pay lies with the countrys former colonial power Britain. Mugabe insists that the governments position is that the British must pay for the colonial obligations as agreed at the Lancaster House conference in 1979 that pave the way for Zimbabwes independence in 1980.
The bulk of Zimbabwes estimated 4 000 white commercial farmers have been forcibly evicted from their farms over the past decade as part of Mugabes chaotic and often violent land reform programme. Currently about 175 white farmers are being arraigned before the courts around the country on charges of refusing to vacate their land gazetted for resettlement.
Once a net exporter of food, Zimbabwe has since 2002 faced severe food shortages that critics blame on the Mugabes decision to displace established white farmers and replace them with either incompetent or inadequately funded black farmers.
Post published in: News