Govt should not compensate white farmers

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa must listen to what the people are saying. We have had election disputes in Zimbabwe since time immemorial. They became more pronounced in 2000 when the late MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai came onto the scene.

I have the feeling that sanctions will be removed when the Zanu PF-led government stops unlawful arrests and detention of political activists such as Zengeza West legislator and Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume.

As long as we have human rights abuses, sanctions will remain in force.

We have been turned to border jumpers and squatters in foreign lands while running away from hunger, from those we voted for and elected into office.

We are running away from poverty, bad governance and a tanking economy.

We need to break this silence and call our leadership to order. Now government wants to compensate white farmers who were displaced by the violent land reform programme by the same administration.

I believe the land issue in Zimbabwe is a closed chapter and there is no need to revisit it.

Mnangagwa is making a schoolboy blunder by offering compensation to white former commercial farmers.

All we need is to review our foreign and domestic policies, accept those who are willing to farm in Zimbabwe and give them some land. We have plenty of it, of which most is being under-utilised.

No compensation is needed. We just need to offer any investor some land with good terms so that the nation in the end benefits too.

Yes, people may want to argue that the targeted sanctions have affected the country’s economic performance, I agree, but Zimbabwe has the opportunity to address the problem and move forward.

I believe the targeted sanctions are directed to those who engage in corruption, violate human rights and undermine democratic institutions.