Land reform in zimbabwe is the greatest flop in the world but a success in the eyes of zanu pfutseki. After 2000, around 145,000 families were allocated smallholder plots and a further 20,000 took on medium scale farms. This is because zimbabwes neighbours, some of them worse hit, had lower decreases in production due to the drought. Land reform and agricultural production in zimbabwe. This is followed by the section that presents the framework for understanding poverty alleviation in the resettlement areas. A triple whammy of deflation, stagnation and low productivity is exacerbated by low commodity prices, weak regional currencies and drought, in the context of a legacy of poor policy and a political succession battle over who will eventually succeed 92yearold president robert. The value of constraints on discretionary government policy fernando m. Introduction at independence in 1980 zimbabwe inherited a highly skewed pattern of land distribution.
Land reform in zimbabwe has radically transformed the rural economy. If, however, the outcome is disputed by either of the main protagonists, violence is likely. Land reform, commercial agriculture and local economic. Project muse liberation from constitutional constraints. Fast track land reform in zimbabwe centre for public impact. Examining prospects for democratic reform and economic. Pdf on dec 1, 2011, lionel cliffe and others published an overview of fast. Land reform is a necessary but not sufficient condition for agrarian reform and national development. The book provides a detailed overview of the historical, legal, political, and economic aspects of land redistribution in zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. The land reform programme in zimbabwe has been a major area of international discussion for almost five. This paper assesses the potential consequences of a landreform scheme that draws on proposals. Fast track land reform in zimbabwe centre for public. A number of reforms were implemented over the years, with. The domestic and external implications of zimbabwes.
Images of chaos, destruction and violence have dominated the coverage. Violence will almost certainly dash the prospects of governance reform, international reengagement and muchneeded economic revitalisation, which would help just not zimbabwe, but all of southern africa. Zimbabwes fast track land reform has generated significant attention in. This highly informative collection is the product of a 1998 london conference, updated to take note of the illegal and violent seizure of whiteowned farms starting in early 2000 by the government of robert mugabe. The first part tries to understand the case for redistributive land reforms. Fast track land reform and agricultural productivity in zimbabwe precious zikhali1 abstract in the year 2000 the government of zimbabwe launched the fast track land reform programme ftlrp as part of its ongoing land reform and resettlement programme, which seeks to address the racially skewed land distribution pattern inherited at. Zimbabwe has bravely swallowed some of the economic reform medicine over the last 8 years, and it is clear that the battle is not won until a number of fundamental and structural issues are addressed. The value of constraints on discretionary government policy.
Land reform s constraints and prospects policies, perspectives and ideologies in zimbabwe today, t. Lessons and prospects from a poverty alleviation perspective by sue mbaya a paper presented at the conference on land reform and poverty alleviation in southern africa convened by the southern african regiona l poverty network sarpn human sciences research council hsrc, pretoria, south africa. Zimbabwe, on one side of the spectrum, is facing a crisis in democratisation due to its radical approach to land reform. Indeed, these have been part of the reality but there have also been successes, which have thus far gone largely unrecorded. The contemporary land reform programme in zimbabwe which took off. In 2000, zimbabwe experienced a major shift in the agriculture sector, resulting in a change in the ownership structure of agricultural land. Testimony of dewa mavhinga, senate foreign relations committee. Even compared to the worst drought in zimbabwe of 19911992, production fell by 17%. The story is not simply one of collapse and catastrophe. Figure 4 shows the pattern of land acquisition over the period. The land and agrarian question in zimbabwe sam moyo this work. Banerjee massachusetts institute of technology abstract the paper is in two parts. Land reform is a zimbabwe success story it will be the. However due to time and other constraints the mission was not able to make as detailed and wideranging an assessment of the situation in the rural areas as it feels is necessary to offer a comprehensive proposal.
Mergers that have been concluded are agrifeeds private limited and klein karoo, a south african company, paza buster and auto world, continental outdoor media holdings and jcdecaux sa holdings proprietary limited. Agriculture, manufacturing, mining and tourism the economys growth engines have been the sectors most affected by the crisis. Land reform, sanctions, regime change, and sovereignty one of the enduring problems of the zimbabwe crisis revolves around understanding the meaning of the terms employed by the respective protagonists to describe the crisis, whether they are zimbabwean, african, or western. Jun 18, 20 the united states shares the same fundamental interest as the people of zimbabwe. Written by claudia irigoyen africa infrastructure economics and finance. It was used by the aging mugabe to gain political mileage and grip which he was losing to mdc led tsvanngirai. A published report titled southern africas evolving security architecture. The land grab provided a fast and free approach to acquiring land for resettlementthe ultimate liberation from constitutional constraints on land acquisition. There is widespread agreement on the need for land reform in zimbabwe as a means of reducing poverty. This is further corroborated by literature from undergraduate and postgraduate students who have done researchwork on resettlement areas, especially in masvingo province. Land reform is one of those, if not the most critical. Land reform is probably one of the most difficult domestic policy issues to be dealt with by zimbabwe, namibia, south africa and australia.
A 1998 survey of farm workers in zimbabwe detailing their demographic, and skill, land access and viewpoints of land reform and redistribution is used to examine the very real constraints and the possibilities for poverty reduction among longstanding marginalized social groups in the ongoing fasttrack land resettlement in zimbabwe. Nov 29, 2017 land reform is a zimbabwe success story it will be the basis for economic recovery under mnangagwa november 29, 2017 9. The programmes stated targets were intended to alter the ethnic balance of land ownership. Such a view often underestimates subtle political currents that define the form and content of the land reform policy. In each of these countries the process of land reform is incomplete. Introduction according to the white paper on south african land policy the case for the governments land reform policy is fourfold. An adapted version of this paper appears in the edited collection post independence land reform in zimbabwe, published in may 2004 by the friedrich ebert stiftung in harare. A discussion on the outcomes of land reform from a poverty reduction perspective and based on the evidence from masvingo is presented next. The domestic and external implications of zimbabwes economic reform and reengagement agenda. The domino effect of the present land reform policy has resulted in zimbabwes gdp shrinking by. The fasttrack land reform and agrarian change in zimbabwe. Much of this land was previously cattle ranches, with limited. Hence, understanding land reform programmes in kenya, south africa and zimbabwe necessitates cognisance of the political economy that shapes a countrys land and agrarian policy in contexts of political transitio ns to democracy.
The domino effect of the present land reform policy has resulted in zimbabwes gdp shrinking by 4. The history of land reform in zimbabwe is addressed and the current proposed reform p. Examining prospects for democratic reform and economic recovery in zimbabwe. Capacity constraints play a key role in the analysis of tacit collusion. This replaced an agrarian structure that was divided between 4,500 largescale commercial farms and many small communal area farms. Livelihoods in mashonaland west province of zimbabwe.
Another poor rainy season has struck this year, with oxafam estimating 750,000 tons. Aug 30, 2017 fast track land reform in zimbabwe written by claudia irigoyen africa infrastructure economics and finance the zimbabwean government began its land reforms in the 1980s to address the imbalances in land access ownership and use that had existed in the country before independence. In this section, we zero in on masvingo province in the central south and east of the country. Apr 15, 2011 mergers and acquisitions expected to increase in zimbabwe.
Session one on the current position friedrich ebert foundation. The zimbabwean government will then at last be able to tackle the contentious and highly politicised land. The article seeks to delineate and evaluate some constraints that the new black farmers in the former. Malawi, had a 10% drop, swaziland 18% and zambia 30 %. Compelling reasons support phasing out gross colonial inequalities, and there is a positive correlation between land redistribution, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. Constraints and prospects soas studies in development geography. Disparity between policy design and implementation medicine masiiwa institute of development studies university of zimbabwe may 2004 note. Louis february 15, 2017 abstract this paper investigates how institutional constraints discipline the behavior of discre. A critical analysis of the land reform programme in zimbabwe.
Constraints and prospects soas studies in development geography university of london school of oriental and african studies, stoneman, colin, bowyerbower, t. Pdf an overview of fast track land reform in zimbabwe. The second phase of the land redistribution and resettlement programme in the form of the fast track land reform programme ftlrp, which started in 2000, has created an expanded number and array of small, medium and large scale farms, and effectively transferring ownership from the minority, white farmers to new indigenous farmers. The zimbabwean government began its land reforms in the 1980s to address the imbalances in land access ownership and use that had existed in the country before independence. Land ownership, and rights of use of land, have been central issues for many countries throughout history, and for many are also issues of the day. Yet the party also resented these more lenient constitutional requirements to acquire land and repeatedly threatened to transgress them. A dominant view held by most governments implementing land reform is one that conceptualises the land reform process in a technicist form3. Overall impacts of fast track land reform programme. Zimbabwe uncertainty over the land reform programme, declining business confidence and shortages of foreign exchange, which resulted in a drastic reduction in imports of raw material. Zimbabwe it was also able to make several field visits. Land reform in zimbabwe officially began in 1980 with the signing of the lancaster house agreement, as an effort to more equitably distribute land between black subsistence farmers and white zimbabweans of european ancestry, who had traditionally enjoyed superior political and economic status.
Land reform in zimbabwe 1 norma kriger in 1980, zimbabwes white minority owned commercial farms covered nearly half the countrys agricultural land. We argue that there is relatively persuasive evidence showing that redistributing land may promote equity as well as efficiency. This is the first part of articles on the land reform researched and written by pranjal bajaj 18. Land administration reform in nigerian fig congress 2010 facing the challenges building the capacity sydney, australia, 1116 april 2010 316 land administration reform in nigerian. Cliffe prospects for agrarian transformation in zimbabwe. Thank you also for affording me the privilege of testifying before you about this very important country at this critical juncture. Firms can indeed maintain collusive prices if they believe that undercutting their rivals. From the 1980s, under the influence of international finance and neoliberal economics, stateled and interventionist land reform was removed from the development agenda and replaced by marketbased. Drs tanya bowyerbower and colin stoneman compile the views of top researchers, members of government, civil society, ngos, funders, and zimbabwe s three farmers unions.
Challenges and prospects for the new theology of land in zimbabwe. Chatham house celebrates 100 years with a number of initiatives to build a more. Irrespective of all constraints, the governments accomplishments during the. Land reforms constraints and prospects policies, perspectives and ideologies in zimbabwe today, t. Mergers and acquisitions expected to increase in zimbabwe. Land reform, commercial agriculture and local economic growth. Yet today, the state of zimbabwe, controlled by the ruling zimbabwe african national unionpatriotic front party, holds titles to almost all for. Land reform is a zimbabwe success story it will be the basis for economic recovery under mnangagwa november 29, 2017 9. Land reform is not merely an economic programme aimed at spreading social. Land reform, sanctions, regime change, and sovereignty. Secretarygeneral kofi annan questioned the zimbabwe governments approach to land reform at the world. Jun 18, 20 examining prospects for democratic reform and economic recovery in zimbabwe. Prospects for the socialist transformation of agriculture in zimbabwe.
This rudimentary outline of the history of land reform in zimbabwe since 1980 must serve as the basis. The forum occurred about two weeks before zimbabwes presidential elections held on 9 to11 march 2002. Merger control in zimbabwe a presentation by alexander j kububa at the regional conference on competition policy, competitiveness, and investment in a global economy daressalaam, tanzania. The land reform program of 2000, which was dubbed the. Zimbabwes fast track land reform program ftlrp formally began with the land acquisition act of 2002. Democracy and land reform in zimbabwe an international peace academy report 2 ipa workshop report 1 this meeting built on an ipa seminar on regional security in southern africa, held in botswana in december 2000. Land reform in zimbabwe, 19801990 robin palmer introduction on 18 april 1990 zimbabwe celebrates the 10th anniversary of its independence. In zimbabwe, for the first ten years after independence in 1980, land redistribution was limited largely to that occurring on a willingbuyer, willingseller basis as defined by the lancaster house agreement.