A Zimbabwean farmer who was evicted when war veterans took
over his tobacco farm outside Harare is considering going back to assist the
new owners.
The Zimbabwean government, under President Emmerson
Mnangagwa, recently approved compensation for commercial farmers whose farms
had been handed over to war veterans.
De Waal Viljoen, now an uMhlanga Rocks resident, was among
the many farmers in Zimbabwe whose land had been confiscated.
Viljoen, 63, said his “heart and soul” was with his former
employees who now co-owned the 25-hectare tobacco farm. Viljoen was born in
Marondera, a city about 70km east of Harare.
He said it was difficult to part with his farm because it
had been part of his family for generations.
His family had several other farms, on which they grew
vegetable and fruit and kept livestock.
Two year ago, when he visited the farm he left in 2001, he
was sad to find that his former employees, who were elated to see him, were
living under deplorable conditions of poverty. Six people were still living
there.
Despite their poverty, the farm was in excellent condition.
During the land invasions, Viljoen had his taken away by veterans who divided
farms among themselves. But, he said, as a true Christian, he had forgiven
them.
When he relocated to Durban, he knew no one. He loaded the
family’s belongings on the back of his bakkie and drove down to the coast.
Viljoen said he harboured no hard feelings after what
happened and wanted to help because the people on his former farm were hungry
and desperate to survive.
“Walking around with bitterness is like drinking poison and
hoping that the next person is going die so, I am at peace with myself. I want
to use part of the compensation to assist them with skills,” he said.
Despite its economic challenges, Zimbabwe had become the
third biggest producer of tobacco in the world. The country’s tobacco farms
were producing good crops.
“This year, tobacco yields have gone up to 265 million
kilograms, which brings a lot of income to the country,” Viljoen said.
“It is a wealthy country which has fertile soil and many
natural resources. Most of the white farmers want to go back – but on condition
that their farms are returned.
“In their hearts, they want to go back but they want things
back to what they were two decades ago,” he said.
The commercial farmers’ union had fought hard to have the
compensation paid. Viljoen explained that the compensation to over 3 500
affected farmers was for improvements only, not for the land.
He said the government had put aside about $3.5 billion
(R58.7bn) for compensation.
Viljoen warned that the expropriation of land, and the
continual killing of farmers, in South Africa could lead to starvation and
unemployment.
Sunday Tribune
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