By A Correspondent
A faction of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) has strongly criticized the government’s recent decision to allow beneficiaries of the land reform program to sell or transfer their farms.
Led by Andreas Ethan Mathibela, this faction argues that permitting land sales undermines the sacrifices made during the liberation struggle and primarily benefits a privileged few rather than the broader population.
In a press conference held in Bulawayo on Tuesday, Mathibela expressed his discontent with the government’s approach, stating, “Who are we selling it to? What will happen to our future generation when we sell the land that many lives were lost fighting for?”
He emphasized that the government’s announcement, made live on television, should have involved public consultation. “I hope society misunderstood what the government said,” he added.
Mathibela further warned that once the land is sold, it will not expand beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, noting, “That means once you sell the land, only a few people will hold onto it.”
He pointed out that a significant number of war veterans remain without land, asserting, “I can speak on behalf of war veterans—about 75 to 80 percent have not been allocated land, the very land they fought for, including myself.
I don’t even have a piece of land. So, the question is, who owns the land right now?”
He also criticized the implications of land sales for agricultural use: “When you sell land, the buyer is not obligated to engage in agriculture.
Some just subdivide it for housing.” This shift, he argued, privatizes land intended for farming, allowing buyers to do as they please with it.
Mathibela highlighted the irony of a US$3.5 billion compensation bill for former white farmers while many veterans remain landless. “Does that make sense? Personally, it does not,” he said.
He concluded by stressing the importance of consulting citizens on such matters: “We must be careful and respect our citizens by consulting them. If we all agree to sell the land, then it’s on all of us, but that decision cannot come from a few individuals.”