Warning over new farm invasion threat

The Zimbabwe Government is fretting over a new wave of farm invasions threatening to hit the country as youths aligned to the ruling Zanu-PF party target under-utilised farms. In a statement e-mailed to Business Day last week, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Rural Resettlement Minister Anxious Masuka said Harare was concerned. ‘While every Zimbabwean has a right to land, due process must be followed in accessing agricultural land at all times. It is the responsibility of the state, not individuals, to alienate agricultural land,’ he said. He added that there was soaring demand for land, with more than 250 000 people now on the waiting list for farms. The new concerns over farm invasions hark back to the violent land grabs that saw mostly white farmers being displaced two decades ago.