There are lots about mural questions that could be asked about the land ownership of the White farmer, which I guess the current land owner themselves would not be able to adequately answer for many reasons. One of which was that, they were not directly responsible for the ugliness that came with Zimbabwe colonisation. You will recall the film, the good, the bad and the ugly, these terms could as well still form a good caption under which the topic of colonialism could be discussed.

All been said, I for one still believes the land ownership issue in Zimbabwe could have been handled differently. The bible says that which among would go to war without careful plan regarding, the cost of the war, the number of men, the armament in term of number of horses ( I am paraphrasing here). The world normally is used to statuesque and for one to develop an idea of change (in this case the issue of land ownership), one should be ready for battle, as in the case of Zimbabwe. Instead of rallying the nation against the White Farmers, who are the engine of food production and development in the country for his selfish interest of perpetuating himself in the office, the efforts could have been directed differently. If I were to be in the shoes of Robert Mugabe, this is how I would tackle the issue.

First, as the president, I am the first executive president of my country. At this time I have the majority in the Parliament; I control all apparatus of the government of the day. I am popular (greeted as some kind of saviour from the grip and tyranny of colonialism), I have the good will of the people and the sense of their patriotism is still very high. I could rally them toward a high and lofty course (at least at this time).I govern a land flowing with milk and honey, the land yielding it increase, all the abundance of the land are under my control. Yes I know my fathers were on the receiving end of the ills of colonialism, but I would not govern out of anger but channel my anger intelligently and productively. I already have a plan based on the following questions that I have answered in the course of the preparation of my blue prints.

(a) What percentage of the farm-able land is in the hand of the white farmers?

(b) What is the percentage of literacy among the majority?

(c) What resources have we as a nation in which we’ve got comparative advantage?

(d) And who are the people you could term movers in these sectors?

Secondly, from my answers especially to question d) which visibly are the white farmers, I will set about my task as follows: (a) I will encourage literacy among the black majority, and with the goodwill I still enjoy locally and around the world, I will foster education incentives and scholarships in Agricultural engineering, water and civil engineering, Agriculture, power generation, transportation, Agronomy and animal husbandry; (b) I will encourage major stake holders in my plan, with government incentives in terms of tax (tariff) relieve and trading with countries, industry or individual that will absorb these trained people on board so that they can learn how to apply what they have studied.(Nigeria have failed woefully in this area, we spent money carelessly and aimlessly with almost no thought or efforts aimed at harnessing these talents and knowledge to further develop our nationhood, what a shame..

Thirdly, with well coordinated effort(s) I will give those incentives and land to start their farming business with government owning a few percentages of the stakes. These would allow me to take over any unserious person's farm which would be given to others who are making progress. I have just created an alternative and my people would then have a choice either to work for the black farmer or white farmer. I have tailored my efforts/anger to create a balance in that sector where we have comparative advantage.

Fourthly, I will ensure a strong commodity export boards where prices are fair, quality is monitored all have access to. The board would function as a trading spot between any nation and my country. Then I can focus on capacity and quality of such product. Every farmer would have equal chance. I can then tell the world my country have the capacity to supply 3million barrel of palm oil for instance. Britain knows the number of cattle heads it has between its borders why shouldn't I. In addition, I will further ensure that at the long run, that, we are not just exporting raw materials; we are also processing them with a relatively low cost as compared with other nations. I will further ensure the markets for our finished product are sought for.

If for instance, the answer to question (a) is that 60% belong to the white farmers, I will not pursue land reclamation policy since there still remain 40% farm-able land, and the other 60% will shrink with time, however, if 80% of the land belong to the minority. I will address it in these manners.(1) While still pursuing my blue print with all vigour and with all the state apparatus at my disposer I will create a chance for an open dialogue encouraging white farmers to shed at least 20% of their farmland ( this will be done without jeopardising my country’s 3million palm oil capacity). I will emphasise dialogue while building on the capability of the majority, as the white farmers are still also my subject and my people. (2) I will follow after land reformation legality in my parliament while ensuring fairness.

 I think following these lines of thought; it would not result into my country been isolated and derided. Our capacity as a nation in terms of our production capacity will not diminish and our trading with other nations will not be hampered. Above all, there would not be a vacuum in our economy engine room. I will not redirect the frustration/anger of my people towards perpetuating myself in office, which is what Mugabe is doing, I doubt very much if he has the interest of his people at heart.

Robot  # 1 | 20.04.2009 08:04

://profile.ak.facebook.com/object3/999/121/n27870312807_820.There are lots about mural questions that could be asked about the land ownership of the White farmer, which I guess the current land owner themselves would not be able to adequately answer for many reasons. One of which was that, they were not directly responsible for the ugliness that came with Zimbabwe colonisation...Read the full article.