Zimbabwe permits resettled farmers to sell land

Zimbabwe's government announced a major shift to its land policy on Tuesday, allowing beneficiaries of its land reforms to sell or transfer their farms - but only to "indigenous Zimbabweans."

Ministers speaking after a meeting of the cabinet in Harare said the new policy was aimed at "unlocking value."

All farmers who benefited from land reforms launched in 2000 will now be issued with a "bankable, registrable and transferable document of tenure," said information minister Jenfan Muswere.

He said the government was simultaneously putting an "indefinite moratorium on the issuance of any new 99-year leases or permits for agricultural land."

The announcement appeared to herald the end of Zimbabwe's land reform programme which saw large swathes of land being seized from white land owners and parcelled out free of charge to indigenous blacks.

Here is Muswere's announcement in full:

"There have been varying levels of accountability from the farmers with a significant proportion of the farmers feeling no obligation to pay back loans advanced.

"Consequently, the government has remained saddled with debt emanating from unpaid agricultural loans by many farmers.

The menace of land barons who have little or no regard for our town and country planning laws and policies has put a strain on the local authorities' infrastructure. The land barons develop haphazard and unplanned settlements with no basic services such as water, electricity, sewer reticulation and stormwater drainage.

"Against this background and in line with section 292 of the constitution read together with sections 289, 293 and 294 that obligates the state to give security of tenure to every person and to alienate for value agricultural land among other requirements, the government will implement the following measures:

"All land held by beneficiaries of the land reform programme under 99-year leases; offer letters and permits will now be held under a bankable, registrable and transferable document of tenure to be issued by the government of Zimbabwe to beneficiaries. As such, beneficiaries of the land reform programme will now have enhanced security of tenure to the land they legitimately hold.

"This new policy will invariably be informed by the following guidelines:

"Priority will be given to veterans of the liberation struggle, women and youths. Security of tenure to all agricultural land regularised under this programme will at all times only be transferable among indigenous Zimbabwe. The land targeted for the new land tenure system will exclude communal land that is under the jurisdiction of traditional chiefs. Accordingly, the government hereby issues an indefinite moratorium on the issuance of any new 99-year leases or permits for agricultural land."