Zimbabwe Land Reform Programme

In the 1980s Zimbabwe became the poster-child for African independence. Twenty years later, violent land grabs pushed white farmers off their land, and the economic turmoil caused unprecedented hyperinflation, resulting in the ultimate crash of the Zimbabwean currency. Food production collapsed and one of the continent’s strongest economies reduced to half its previous size. While the West was quick to dismiss Zimbabwe as another failed African state, new research shows that Zimbabwe is actually recovering, and that land reform is working. This week on South2North, Teresa Smart, one of the authors of the book, Zimbabwe Takes Back Its Land, speaks about the rise of food production in Zimbabwe. "Since the end of hyperinflation, since the dollar economy started in 2009, production has gone up every year until its approaching that of the production before land reform," says Smart. Smart also talks about how the small farmers know their land more intimately and use a lot of labour, which is increasing the resources and helping to alleviate poverty. Redi also speaks to Sam Moyo, a professor and the executive director of the African Institute for Agrarian Studies in Harare. "We are not beyond capitalism, because this is not a socialist programme, it is a social wealth redistribution programme," says Moyo. When asked if President Robert Mugabe was right, Moyo says: "Yes of course he was right, I since the 80s have been arguing for a more progressive and extensive reform." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ODAIPgfHfk Our land reform was not racist as some suggest. You must understand our history to appreciate the necessity of what we did. The land was stolen from us by violent European settlers, no compensation was paid. They then issued themselves with title deeds and legalised the theft of our property. This created a very difficult legal situation but the complexity is not of our making. We have been placed in this position by the colonial actions of Britain. This injustice could not be allowed to continue and we decided to take back our land from the white settler farmers. We do not apologise for this, it is our right. Africans have no land in Europe. The little that we have here in Africa belongs to us and must benefit our people. The land belongs to us and we have taken it. God bless you and God bless mother Africa....R.G.Mugabe