News / National
Land reform irreversible says Welshman Ncube
12 Jul 2012 at 17:26hrs | Views
THE land reform is "theoretically and practically" irreversible and anyone still asking about land ownership has been overtaken by history, MDC president Professor Welshman Ncube has said.
Addressing journalists at Chinhoyi Press Club recently, Prof Ncube who is also Industry and Commerce Minister said the programme that saw thousands of people being allocated land was a done deal.
"Whatever misgivings that might have been there about the methodology, the land redistribution structure and the process itself are theoretically and practically irreversible. Anyone asking about the land and ownership now has been overtaken by history," he said.
Prof Ncube said it was impossible to go back to the pre-land reform era and that anyone questioning or seeking reversal now had lost touch with reality. He said it was a fait accompli.
The challenge, the minister said was to come up with mechanism to ensure security of tenure so that those who benefited could be productive without fear and to ensure that they secured funding from banks. He said the challenge of the future was to ensure productivity on the farms for a vibrant agriculture industry.
Turning to resuscitation of industry, he said Government had embarked on a phased approach that would see funding being channelled to the traditional industrial hub of Bulawayo while other areas would get funding from subsequent tranches. So far, he said about US$50 million had been channelled to Bulawayo, while US$30 million had been earmarked for the rest of the country.
Addressing journalists at Chinhoyi Press Club recently, Prof Ncube who is also Industry and Commerce Minister said the programme that saw thousands of people being allocated land was a done deal.
"Whatever misgivings that might have been there about the methodology, the land redistribution structure and the process itself are theoretically and practically irreversible. Anyone asking about the land and ownership now has been overtaken by history," he said.
Prof Ncube said it was impossible to go back to the pre-land reform era and that anyone questioning or seeking reversal now had lost touch with reality. He said it was a fait accompli.
The challenge, the minister said was to come up with mechanism to ensure security of tenure so that those who benefited could be productive without fear and to ensure that they secured funding from banks. He said the challenge of the future was to ensure productivity on the farms for a vibrant agriculture industry.
Turning to resuscitation of industry, he said Government had embarked on a phased approach that would see funding being channelled to the traditional industrial hub of Bulawayo while other areas would get funding from subsequent tranches. So far, he said about US$50 million had been channelled to Bulawayo, while US$30 million had been earmarked for the rest of the country.
Source - TH
