Lawmaker slams new land Bill

MDC Senator Michael Carter has slammed the Zanu-PF-sponsored Land Commission Bill, labelling it as racist and claiming it would impoverish nearly a thousand former white land owners and their black workers. A report on the allAfrica site notes that the Bill, framed by government's land reform process, is provided for in the Constitution under Section 296. It stipulates the setting up of a Commission that would be tasked to carry out land audits and fair distribution of farms while the implementation of the Bill will repeal the Agricultural land Settlement Act, Land Acquisition Act and Land Act. However, Carter singled out section 21(2) of the Constitution which he said restricted the right of individuals who are not indigenous citizens to own, lease or occupy state land adding that the draft law mimicked the colonial white government's laws which discriminated against blacks. ‘For the record, as a white person, I must protest that this clause is discriminatory. Can a white person not be indigenous?’ the Bulawayo lawmaker asked.