Keep your aid money, Min Made tells EU

EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Philip Van Damme

“No one is forced (to provide support), and I want to make this clear – it is a matter of choice; no one is forced to support any of our sectors,” agriculture minister Joseph Made told EU envoy Philip Van Damme at a meeting in the capital on Wednesday.

Brussels’ representative to Harare had suggested that Zimbabwe addresses its land ownership problems, adding that finalising the land question would help facilitate the country’s agricultural exports to EU markets.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa also, last week, warned that for the country’s economy to recover “the land question should be brought to finality”.

“Failure to compensate for land and improvements is a liability to the nation. Full compensation should be paid for land and improvements made,” said the treasury chief.

But Made begged to differ on Wednesday.

“I want to make a subtle comment on the land issue because your Excellency (EU ambassador to Zimbabwe) you have made reference to that issue and, obviously, you know that I will seize upon the right to make a comment.

“The land issue in Zimbabwe is irreversible. I want to make that clear; totally, totally irreversible,” he said.

Made, said the EU must only focus on assisting the resettled farmers and not the land reform programme.

“From a technical point of view, this debate should not concern us,” he explained.

“What should concern us is total focus to those farmers to support them to produce and anyone who comes to work with us, from a developmental point of view, has a choice on which category to support (A1, A2 and old resettled farmers).

“We do not want anybody to enter our land reform debate; it is a matter that we have already put to rest,” said the minister.

In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com later, ambassador Van Damme said he never demanded the reversal of the land reform.

“Nobody questions the land reform itself, nobody wants to come back to the past,” the envoy explained.

“We have repeatedly said, throughout the years, that the land reform was needed.

“What was regretted in the past, and what we continue to regret, is the way this land reform was implemented-  both from a rule of law point of view, as well as from a point of view of the accompanying measures.”

He added: “A lot of small holder farmers do not have the competence and the means to develop productive farming.”

However, minister Made’s remarks echoed comments by President Robert Mugabe who last week rejected calls for reform, telling western countries that they could keep their aid money.

“They say our policies are not good and they will not give us funding if we do not reform.

“We say no. That is nonsense. Keep your resources because our land is greater than your resources.

“My land shall always be there and we shall always have Zimbabwe,” Mugabe fumed while burying a national hero at the Heroes Acre in Harare.