President Emmerson Mnangagwa has spoken for the first time on plans to take back farms from owners of multiple properties.

The revelations come after the Ministry Of Lands And Agriculture pointed directly at former President Robert Mugabe’s properties.

In January, officials in Gen Perrance Shiri’s office told a publication, “Minister Shiri has ordered, through our directors, that we compile a full list of the former First Family’s farms and we are already doing it.”

This time Mnangagwa yesterday confirmed the development although without mentioning Mugabe’s name.

The President told over 40 000 youths at a convention in Mkoba that his government is repossessing land from multiple farm owners and will soon redistribute it to the youths and other Zimbabweans yearning to venture into farming.

Mnangagwa said Government was also downsizing farms to benefit those who did not have land.

“There is a land audit committee underway,” said President Mnangagwa.

“The committee is discovering that there are people with more than one farm and we are taking those farms and leave you with one. We have also discovered that some farms are very big farms exceeding what is recommended depending on the region. We are downsizing those farms and you have requested that when we redistribute, we must think about the youths,” he said.

“That message is very clear. We do not want one individual to disadvantage others. We want fairness in the distribution of land. On that request we take it on board by making sure that the land we are getting back as a result of people with many farms we are going to take, some we have already repossessed, and some of that we are going to downsize, we will give our people.” – state media/additional reporting