"GREEN BOMBERS" JOIN THE RANKS OF LAND

UNCLAS HARARE 002415 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JFRAZER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAGR PGOV ZI SUBJECT: "GREEN BOMBERS" JOIN THE RANKS OF LAND BENEFICIARIES REF: IIR 6 926 0018 04 ¶1. Summary. Minister of Lands, Agriculture, and Rural Resettlement, Joseph Made, recently announced that two farms in each province will be set aside "for utilization by graduates of the National Youth Training" program. Now, the notorious youth militia graduates -- commonly known as "green bombers" -- join the ranks of soldiers and prisoners as "new farmers" in this brave new world. End summary. ¶2. This new initiative of allocating farms to paramilitary units closely follows the GOZ's decisions to allocate entire farms to its military organizations and prison system. In the case of the National Youth Training Program, it is less clear who will actually be operating the farm. In the case of some previous military and prison allocations, the farms would allegedly be worked to provide food for soldiers or prisoners, respectively. In the case of the banana plantation recently seized by Zimbabwe Defense Industries (ZDI) (ref),the implication was that ZDI only wanted to siphon cash from the operation. Although the purported aim of the program is to develop "national and self-development," it is difficult to imagine the curriculum producing dedicated subsistence farmers or farm laborers. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶3. The logistics, as well, are difficult to envision. Although the news report states that input support will be provided to those who are "given the land," it is highly unlikely that two farms in each province (18 farms total) will even begin to appease the wave of underemployed youths churned from the program. It is also not clear whether the farms will be operated as training centers (for youths who have ostensibly already graduated from training),or will be carved into small plots for private use. This points out one of the key false notes in the entire Land Resettlement program. If all Zimbabweans have a right to own land, how will the GOZ accommodate the future waves of Zimbabwean claimants? It also underscores the inherently chaotic nature of the program, in which the GOZ makes up rules as it goes along -- with no rhyme, no reason, and no vision of what agriculture will look like when the program is complete. SULLIVAN