Cabinet ministers and traditional leaders who were fronting white ex-commercial farmers could lose their farms as they were undermining the principle of black economic empowerment, President Robert Mugabe warned yesterday.
This followed reports that some of the ministers and chiefs were leasing their farms to whites while others were under-utilising the land allocated to them during the fast-track land reform programme.
Mugabe, who was speaking at the launch of the new A1 permits at Chipfundi in Mhangura, accused his lieutenants of “supping with whites” and vowed that no farmland would be returned to whites again.
The President said sub-letting farms was undermining the essence of the land reform programme.
“Some of my ministers are being mentioned here. They are refusing to remove white farmers from their constituencies,” he said to the applause of people attending the launch.
Mugabe said chiefs who were supposed to be the custodians of land were also corruptly involved in land deals.
“But we are told that chiefs are also involved in land deals. Can we do that Mr Charumbira (Chief Fortune Charumbira president of chiefs council)? Can we be seen arresting chiefs? This is an issue which we will fight against,” he said.
Mugabe said those who were leasing their land risked losing it as an audit would reveal the true occupants of properties.
He warned that all underutilised land would be re-allocated to deserving applicants…
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