The politics of Zimbabwe's land reform: winners and losers

The political debates about the rights and wrongs of Zimbabwe's land reform continue to occupy many.The tired, old obsession about how the land was taken and the associated focus on so-called ...

Medium-scale commercial farming in Zimbabwe post-land reform programme: A new picture is emerging

WE have a new open access paper out in the Journal of Modern African Studies "Medium-scale commercial agriculture in Zimbabwe: The experience of A2 resettlement farms".Contrary to assertions t...

Can South Africa come to Zimbabwe's rescue by ending 'quiet diplomacy'?

Zimbabwe's worsening economic and political crises seem to be never-ending and still getting worse. The misplaced expectations that the "new dispensation" would provide an escape route following the 2...

Settling land compensation issue vital for Zimbabwe's economy

IN his inaugural address, the new President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, confirmed that land reform was both historically necessary and irreversible.He also made a commitment to compensate...

Farm viability: Implications for land reform, investment

THERE are many misconceptions about farming in southern Africa, and one of the most insidious is the notion of "viability". A narrow economistic version has predominated that is based on a nor...

What does investment look like on the ground in Zimbabwe?

LAST week I was at the African Studies Association of the UK (ASA) conference in Birmingham. I was co-hosting, with my colleague Jeremy Lind (whose earlier blog this one draws from), a fantastic strea...

Settling the land compensation issue is vital for Zimbabwe's economy

IN his inaugural address the new President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, confirmed that land reform was both historically necessary and irreversible. He also made a commitment to compensate farmers...

What is happening along Africa's eastern seaboard?

THE eastern seaboard of Africa from Kenya to Tanzania to Mozambique has become a major focus of attention. The ports - from Bagamoyo to Beira - are seen as the gateway to Africa, a place where great r...

Trump's Zimbabwe connection

Donald Trump will be sworn in as United States president this week. So far, according to ...

Zimbabwe: the rise of the informal trader and a new political economy

The protest by Zimbabweans against police road blocks and banned imports highlights a new political economy that is rising on the back of informalisation of the economy, writes Professor Ian Scoones o...

Zanu-PF in a bind after elections

ON July 31 last year, Zanu-PF were victorious in the elections. The opposition was annihilated.The elections were disputed by many, and many questions were raised about the process, but most c...

Zimbabwe's Land Reform: myths and realities

Zimbabwe's Land Reform: myths and realitiesby Ian Scoones(Weaver Press, R175 )This book by Ian Scoones, Blasio Mavengedze, Jacob Mahenehene, Felix Murimbarimba and Chrispen Sek...