Mliswa letter indictment on land seizures

THE story “Chombo, Shamu leasing farms — Mliswa” (Zimbabwe Independent, February 12) by Faith Zaba made for interesting reading.

Does Temba Mliswa –– in the allegations he has made –– intend to shame ministers for multiple farm ownership and for leasing farms to white farmers?

Or is it to expose white farmers who lease from politicians? Or is it to reveal the true shortcomings of the land seizures? Perhaps he has inadvertently done all three!

If the letter by Mliswa is to shame high ranking politicians he may well have succeeded because these accusations seem to be founded and cannot be taken lightly by the authorities and must be investigated thoroughly.

Ignatious Chombo and Webster Shamu have been named as multiple farm owners and if the talk in the resettled areas of Zvimba is anything to go by this would appear to be the case and must be verified. The long awaited land audit if allowed to do its job will reveal all.

If the intention is to “expose” white farmers then the reason for this is unclear. Is it illegal for white men to farm?

Is it the colour of their skin that he does not like? Is it their ability to grow crops on the land that would lie idle otherwise?

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Or is it a genuine concern that Chombo and Shamu have more than one farm and this is illegal and they and the white farmers are aiding and abetting each other for mutual gain.

In Zvimba it is openly spoken about that some white farmers willingly enter into agreements with new farmers to utilise their land. Maybe even politicians are leasing their farms to white men as names such as Jan van Rensberg, Smith, Falconberg, Stoddart, Gertenbach and others are spoken about.

So Mliswa’s assertions may be true.

The real result of Mliswa’s letter has been to reveal the shortcomings of the land redistribution exercise. If politicians own multiple farms as alleged then it shows the exercise was flawed.

The fact that white farmers are engaged in illegal deals –– as alleged by Mliswa –– shows the willingness of some white farmers to farm, even though the legality and morality of their actions is questionable.

This situation has not arisen by mistake but due to the ill-conceived land re-distribution exercise.

The land question must be resolved and well done Mliswa for opening the proverbial can of worms.

Maziesu pagomo,Zvimba.