ZwNews com
When the Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he was going to compensate white farmers who lost their farms during the haphazard land reform, the sentiments were met with mixed reactions.
Some said it was the good to do, but others called him a sell-out, bent on reversing the gains of independence. Even the ZANU-PF youths were not amused.
The President promised to carry out his plans.
“We fought for the land and we will never ever regret taking back our land. Neither will we ever betray our fellow comrades who paid the supreme sacrifice for this land and now lie buried in marked and unmarked graves within our boarders and beyond.
“Our Constitution, binds us to compensation in respect to improvements effected on the land before acquisition. This will be done as and when resources are available,” said Mnangagwa in his independence address yesterday.
Meanwhile, a hot debate has been ignited on various media platforms, especially consumer generated media, commonly known as social media.
Renowned journalist Hopewell Chin’ono says it is bad that ZANU-PF messed up the Land Reform Program, and that it is now unfortunately that the country has to pay the white farmers or otherwise the International Monetary Fund’s Staff Monitored Program in Zimbabwe will not pass.
“We either pay and pass the SMP or remain a pariah state,” he says.
Economist Vince Musewe believes the compensation would bring closure to the matter, but hopes that the money won’t be externalised the next day.
Prominent political analyst Elder Mabhunu says the problem emanated from the haphazard way the land reform program was carried out, and says the government should now look at less destructive way to bring the matter to finality.
He warns against borrowing for consumption.
But marketing strategist Rutendo Matinyarare, says Zimbabweans should not say white compensation must be upheld only because its in the country’s constitution. Forgetting that the same constitution mandates government to give citizens shelter, housing, free quality education, social services and economic progress in section 27 and asks why not start from that perspective.
She says government’s idea to take a $3bil-$9bil debt to compensate white farmers, should be stopped as would leave the country in huge debt that will take centuries, to clear while Zimbabwe’s economy stagnates.
She posits that Minister of Finance Mthuli Ncube is busy negotiating commissions to put Zimbabwe in billions of dollars of debt.
She questions why is Mnangagwa so keen to uphold the same constitution he has never cared to holdup previously, only now when it come to compensating white farmers, and suspects ghost farmers have been created to symphony money from state coffers.
“Did you know that ghost white farmers have been created and are awaiting payment as our leaders prepare to loot the white farmer compensation debt that they are creating?
“Not sure why I’m telling you this because it’s not like you will do anything about it anyway. I just need to vent,” says.
