Opposition political parties participating in the Political
Actors Dialogue (polad) have backed the Government decision to compensate for
farm improvements those white former commercial farmers who lost land during
land reform, saying the move was required by the Constitution.
The parties said this after the fourth POLAD principals’
executive meeting at State House yesterday. The parties’ statements follow an
outcry from some sections of the opposition that the decision by Government to
compensate the former farmers for the improvements on their farms, although not
the land itself, was a reversal of Land Reform programme.
The Government has on several times stressed that the
compensation deal was for improvements only and that land reform was not
reversible.
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) president, Professor
Lovemore Madhuku said if there was any issue related to the issue of
compensation, then the problem was the Constitution and the large majority who
approved the Constitution.
“The Constitution provides for it and if you have to blame
anything you have to blame the Constitution and if you blame the Constitution
you have to blame the people of Zimbabwe for endorsing that Constitution,” said
Prof Madhuku.
People’s Democratic Party’s president Ms Lucia Matibenga
agreed that compensation was a Constitutional matter.
“Those issues were debated and we came up with a draft
which people voted for and if I can emphasise this, which some of us have been
complaining about the lack of implementation of the Constitution. Now it is
being implemented (and) some people are complaining,” she said.
Ms Matibenga also shot down suggestions that there was a
crisis in Zimbabwe, saying most of the so-called crises were only happening on
social media platforms, contrary to what was happening on the ground.
Coalition of Democrats leader Mr Trust Chikohora said the
leaders had been re-assured by Government on the irreversibility of the land
reform.
“Another topical issue which came up was the issue of
compensation for white former commercial farmers and we are happy to say that
Government re-assured us that the land reform programme is irreversible and
compensation is to tie some loose ends so that we come up as a country with
effective agriculture and result in us as a country being able to attract
foreign direct investment as we honour Bilateral Investment Promotion and
Protection Agreements, (BIPPAs),” said Mr Chikohora.
Zanu PF deputy secretary for Legal Affairs, Cde Paul
Mangwana, echoed similar sentiments saying the matter was provided for in the
Constitution.
“The issue of compensation is a Constitutional matter and
it took a lot of our time during the constitution making process and during
that time, all political parties were agreed that we should pay for
developments on farms,” he said. Cde Mangwana said the payment for farms that
fall under BIPPAs was an acknowledgement of Zimbabwe’s contractual obligations.
Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli
Ncube, and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya, also briefed
POLAD on the various economic policies being implemented by Government. The
political party leaders were happy with the relative stability brought by the
foreign currency auction system. Herald
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