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AfriBusiness condemns the statements made by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe over the weekend that the remaining white commercial farmers in the country should be removed from their properties, because Zimbabweans need land. This was the latest threat from the crippled country’s leader to his Zanu-PF supporters, where he made it clear that his government will initiate new land grabs against the few remaining white farmers in the country.

In 2000 the country embarked on an extremely violent approach to land reform where farms were taken from white farmers by means of land invasion. AfriBusiness agrees with Obert Gutu, Spokesperson for the MDC, that Mugabe’s latest resolution is nonsensical, racist, primitive and retrogressive.

“AfriBusiness is fearful that this plague of land reform through illegal land invasion will spread across Zimbabwe’s border to South Africa. In the past year, numerous agricultural property owners have contacted AfriBusiness regarding illegal land grabs. If political extremists use Mugabe’s statements to gain public support in South Africa, we fear that the problem will spiral out of control. We already have a dangerous case of unlawful land occupation of three adjacent properties in Pienaarspoort, to mention but one case,” says Armand Greyling, Law and Policy Analyst at AfriBusiness.

AfriBusiness will continue to protect the rights of their members and fight for the protection of the Constitutional safeguard for property.

Issued by AfriBusiness