White farmers in Zimbabwe have been given 90 days to vacate their land, as part of a
plan by Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe to re-allocate these lands to black Zimbabweans.
Previous land reallocation programs have resulted in large-scale violence and deaths of both
black and white Zimbabweans.
So if this practice has proven to be so violent in the past, why does Mugabe insist on intensifying
land grabs now?
Well, most of the issue centers around Mugabe himself, and Zimbabwe’s independence from
Britain.
Mugabe first came to power 30 years ago, as part of a rebel group who gained independence
for Zimbabwe from Britain.
Once in power, Mugabe was quick to negotiate a deal with the British government to help
transfer land from the colonising population of British Farmers to the native population
of Black Zimbabweans.
Britain agreed to help fund these reforms, to ease some of that transition, meeting 50
percent of costs to convert commercial farms into areas for resettlement.
The program was successful at settling 72,000 black Zimbabweans on 8.5 million hectares
of former white-owned, commercial land.
Between 1980 and 2000, Britain provided a total of 44 million pounds sterling to the
Zimbabwe government for resettlement projects.
But former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, ceased funding in 1997.
At which point Mugabe, without the spectre of British oversight, fast-tracked land reforms
and ordered the seizure of 1,500 white-owned farms.
Violence ensued and many white and black Zimbabweans died in the fighting.
To complicate things further, many plots of land lay untouched for some time, leading
to a sharp fall in agricultural production . People are now starving in Zimbabwe and
the economy has suffered .
Now 90 years old, Mugabe’s health is failing, but his policies will most likely continue
even after his death.
In a recent purge, Mugabe dismissed his vice president along with several other cabinet
ministers; and catapulted his wife, Grace Mugabe into a senior position within the ruling
party.
Reports suggest that Mugabe might be grooming his younger wife to be his successor.
Ever wonder why leaders like Mugabe hold onto power so tightly?
Power is wired into our brains.
Learn more in this video from the University of California.