Zimbabwes blacks take over whites land

02 July 1997

Zimbabwes blacks take over whites land

Zimbabwes 11.5m blacks are in line to take over the 3.3m ha (8.2m
acres) of land owned by the countrys white farmers under plans set out by
President Mugabe.

He will be presenting parliament with a Land Bill containing a one
man, one farm concept. It is likely to be passed – there are only three
opposition MPs in a chamber of 150.

Mugabe set up a commission which has decreed optimum sizes for farms
in all regions, based on soil, rainfall and crop potential. Anyone
holding land above the allotted quota would face taxation pressure to
sell. Mugabes bill prohibits the ownership of land by foreigners or by
foreign-owned companies. Most of the countrys 4,500 farmers among the
remaining 70,000 whites are Zimbabwean citizens. The foreigner ban means
multinationals like Lonrho and Anglo-American may be affected.