LAND AUDIT: DISAVOWED DOCUMENT ACKNOWLEDGES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000470 SIPDIS SENSITIVE NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER LONDON FOR C. GURNEY PARIS FOR C. NEARY NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAGR PGOV ZI SUBJECT: LAND AUDIT: DISAVOWED DOCUMENT ACKNOWLEDGES CORRUPTION REF: LAND AUDIT REPORT FAXED TO AF/S ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Long plagued by accusations of chaos and official corruption in its Land Reform and Resettlement Program (LRRP),the GOZ has promised since last September a land audit to investigate program implementation. Various other unofficial lists purporting to document this official corruption have been circulated by interested parties, including the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) and Justice for Agriculture (JAG). Despite GOZ assurances that it was looking into such accusations, no official report has ever been released. However, three documents distributed as "leaked" copies of the official interim report on the land audit (ref) have been making the rounds of the diplomatic community and the international press. Now that newspapers have published excerpts from the "leaked" report, one GOZ-linked newspaper has claimed that an official report does not exist. In our view, the report is likely genuine, although unlikely to be officially acknowledged. Leaking of the document, however, has had the useful effect of exposing at least some of the shenanigans and putting more pressure on Zanu-PF to correct the abuses. End summary. -------------- Report? What Report? -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In addition to recent summaries appearing in the newsletter "Africa Confidential" and the Financial Times, a report on the official LRRP land audit appeared in the pro-Zanu-PF weekly the Sunday Mirror. However, the following week (March 2, 2003),the Sunday Mirror headlined, "Govt Denies Existence of Land Audit Report." In the text of the article, the denial continues (begin text): "There is no such report, and whatever report there is, is merely an invention of the enemies of the State," a senior government official said... He strongly castigated the Sunday Mirror for having reproduced the "Africa Confidential" report, which broke the story in its February 21 issue. "It was an act of mischief on your (the Sunday Mirror's) part to have reproduced that story, for there was definitely no report to leak since it does not exist," the official reprimanded. (End text.) -------------- Detailing the Abuses -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The first of the three documents details abuses within both the Ministry of Lands and local government bodies in implementing LRRP, among them: -- failure of the Ministry to release state land for resettlement -- failure of the Ministry of Lands to delist some wrongfully acquired farms despite clear administrative guidelines, including agro-industrial farms, plantations, export production zones, and properties protected by Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) -- failure of the Ministry to implement the "one man one farm" policy, both for white and indigenous farmers -- failure of the Ministry to implement maximum farm sizes for allocations of A2 plots, as delineated within each agro-ecological region -- failure of the Ministry to act on LA3 Forms (forms by which a property owner subdivides his own land and offers land in excess of the maximum farm size to the GOZ for resettlement) -- allocation of separate A2 plots to both spouses of a married couple "contrary to policy" -- allocation of multiple A2 plots to some politically-connected beneficiaries -- re-designation of A1, or small-scale de-congestion plots, to A2, or large-scale commercial plots -- issuance of "Certificates of No Present Interest" to indigenous buyers (and thus permission to purchase) for farms which have already been formally resettled -- failure of the Ministry to promptly assess amount of compensation payable for improvements on acquired farms -- bad-faith actions of local District Land Committees in targeting specific inappropriate properties (including hotels and guest houses) for the benefit of "local political heavyweights" -- actions of some local politicians in interfering with District Land Committees and allocating land based on their own preferences ¶4. (SBU) The first document also details inadequacies in the GOZ's implementation of support for the LRRP, including: -- crop and seed input schemes -- fertilizer supply schemes -- transport for crop inputs -- tillage services -- livestock development schemes ("heifer loan scheme") -- irrigation equipment rehabilitation -- and borehole (well) drilling for both potable water and irrigation purposes The lack of coherent policy regarding conservancies is briefly highlighted, and one paragraph addresses the "Farm Workers Plight," noting that many districts do not have statistics on the number of farm workers and their current activities or whereabouts. The impetus behind this concern is revealed, however, in the final sentence: "...these farm workers were not only disrupting the operations of A2 farmers but have also been reported to be poaching and cutting down trees in certain areas." ¶5. (SBU) The Interim Report closes with a list of recommendations and advice for getting the LRRP back on track. The recommendations include, -- "Seed houses should be encouraged to produce adequate seed through the regular and timeous review of seed prices." -- "Fertiliser producers should be encouraged to produce adequate quantities through the regular and timeous review of fertiliser prices." In conclusion, the report cites "the successful A1 Model of resettlement," while criticizing the shortcomings in the A2 model such as "multiple allocation of plots to certain individuals and slow uptake." The conclusion acknowledges "the current disgruntled feeling among the masses who expressed their disappointment at the lack of transparency in the implementation of the (LRRP)," and exhorts the GOZ to "quickly re-align" the program to "equitably redistribute the land in Zimbabwe and empower the indigenous people through land ownership." -------------- Addendum -- or Hall of Shame -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The second document, the Addendum, names names. Several Zanu-PF stalwarts are mentioned, including pro-Zanu-PF Mutumwa Mawere and Ibo Mandaza, both of whom have "purchased" several already resettled farms. The Addendum states that Dr. Mandaza purchased five separate farms totaling over 7,500 hectares, and "has since taken the settled families to court in an attempt to evict them from the properties." War veterans Chris Pasipamire (currently pursuing a PhD in England) and Mike Moyo are "violently evicting 36 settlers... some (of whom) have been assaulted..." The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Abednico Ncube is reportedly behind the attempt to "acquire" two established hotels. Mashonaland Central Governor E. Manyika (sic) is identified for allocating A2 farms above 350 hectares -- some, such as the 1500 hectare farm allocated to Minister of Mines and Mining Chindori-Chininga, well above the 200 hectare maximum farm size -- thus preventing greater numbers of indigenous people from benefiting. Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises Development Sithembisu Nyoni reportedly claimed a highly-developed citrus, poultry and livestock farm as an A2 allocation directly from Harare -- despite the fact that the farm was earmarked at the local level for youths from the National Service training program as an "agricultural skills training center." ¶7. (SBU) The most interesting part of the addendum lists those who have taken multiple farms. A Zanu-PF Who's Who list, some of the beneficiaries of multiple farms include: -- Minister Ignatius Chombo, MP J. Gumbo, Governor Josiah Hungwe, Brig. Kanhanga, Minister Elliot Manyika, Mutumwa Mawere, Minister and Mrs. Kembo Mohadi, Sabina Mugabe, Boniface Shamu, ZRP Spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena (2 farms each); -- MP Kasukuwere, Minister Jonathan Moyo, Governor Obert Mpofu, Air Marshall Perence Shiri (3 farms each); -- MP S. Mahofa (four farms); -- Governor P. Chanetsa (four farms plus one allocated to his spouse); and -- C. Chingosho (seven farms). The addendum notes that "The list is not exhaustive as the people interviewed were scared to reveal any information least (sic) they might be victimised by the multiple farm owners who seem to have their loyalists within the various land committees." -------------- -------------- GOZ Expresses Shocked Surprise -- and Little Will to Act -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The third document comprises minutes of a meeting dated Monday December 9. The Chairman of the meeting, Vice President Msika, states his intention to "reappraise everybody present on the developments taking place in the LRRP." He immediately "expressed his utter dismay at the chaotic condition on the ground which contradicted His Excellency's pronouncements on the LRRP..." After reviewing the Interim Report, the committee suggested action which paralleled the suggestions of the Report itself. ¶9. (SBU) A fourth document detailing a second, follow-up meeting, produced the lone strong statement: "While Government should continue to proffer assistance to the farmers care should be exercised to prevent the setting in of the dependency syndrome. Already some of the farmers appeared to be entirely waiting on Government for support. The farmers should be disabused of this misconception. After all, in their applications, A2 farmers had to prove that they had capacity to mobilise the necessary resources. Furthermore, many seemed to be under the illusion that the farms had been allocated gratis. A lease document was to be formulated spelling out the terms of payment for the properties." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (SBU) At some level, the GOZ seems to be aware of its unsustainable position regarding the A2 aspect of its land reform program. The report paints a picture of thousands of expectant "settlers," many of them not even farmers, placed on haphazardly allocated pieces of land and waiting for the impecunious government to till the land and source and deliver all necessary inputs. Because agriculture is so central to the Zimbabwean economy, the GOZ now has little choice but to continue pouring money into this failed scheme in an effort to restart the economy. The GOZ is responsible for a debacle wherein local strongmen have felt free to step in and manipulate the process to their advantage -- resulting in multiple allocations to key figures, re-allocation of previously settled land, and allocation of land to non-farmers unequipped to run a productive farm. ¶11. (SBU) The public complaints of Zanu-PF activists over abuses in the land redistribution program at the December Zanu-PF conference in Chinoyi first prompted President Mugabe to promise a land audit. For undertaking this initiative, Minister Flora Buka was reportedly sidelined and the report was pigeonholed until it surfaced outside Zimbabwe, leading to its unsourced disavowal in the GOZ press. While it is impossible to state unequivocally that the leaked documents are genuine, much of the information contained therein is consistent with other publicly available information. It is our view that the report is likely genuine, but that the GOZ will be reluctant to release it into the public domain. SULLIVAN