Affirmative Action at its most extreme
http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/a...181086,00.html
Zimbabwe's bakeries have shut and supermarkets have warned there will be no bread for the foreseeable future as the government admitted that wheat production had collapsed following the seizure of white-owned farms. The agricultural ministry announcement that the wheat harvest is only about a third of what is required, and that imports are held up by lack of hard currency, came as a deadline passed today for the last white farmers to leave their land or face prosecution for trespass. The maize harvest is expected to be equally dire and price controls to contain hyperinflation have emptied the stores of most other foodstuffs. The World Food Programme says at least 3 million people - one in four of the population - will need food aid in the coming months.
The agriculture minister, Rugare Gumbo, has blamed the food shortages on black farmers who have taken over formerly white-owned land."I am painfully aware of the widespread theft of stock, farm produce, irrigation equipment and the general vandalism of infrastructure by our new farmers," he said."I am disappointed that our new farmers have proved to be failures since the start of the land reform programme in 2000. In spite of all the support government has been pouring into the agricultural sector, productivity and under-utilisation of land remain issues of concern."
Zimbabwe, once the world's second largest exporter of tobacco, has also seen production of its main cash crop nosedive, further undermining its ability to buy food from abroad. This year's crop is not likely to be much better than recent harvests, with many farmers saying that their seedlings have died for lack of irrigation. The government's admission that the land redistribution has failed to deliver the promised boost to food production coincides with a deadline for the last white farmers to vacate their land.
Zimbabwe's economic problems are likely to be compounded by a law passed last week that compels many publicly owned companies, including foreign firms, to sell a majority of their equity to black Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe's minister of indigenisation, Paul Mangwana, said those companies that do not like it can "pack their bags and go"."If they feel that we went into the bush [to fight against white rule] for them to enjoy our wealth then they can leave. We are talking about the total liberation of this country. I have no apologies for that," he said.
Is there any country in Africa that isn't either a hellhole of despair, or teetering on the edge? I cannot imagine why taking land from people who know how to farm, and giving it to people who don't know how to farm, would be considered a good idea? Hmmmm.....maybe it's never a good idea to ever make any decision based on the color of a person's skin, rather than on merit? Naw, that'd be too crazy.
Zimbabwe's bakeries have shut and supermarkets have warned there will be no bread for the foreseeable future as the government admitted that wheat production had collapsed following the seizure of white-owned farms. The agricultural ministry announcement that the wheat harvest is only about a third of what is required, and that imports are held up by lack of hard currency, came as a deadline passed today for the last white farmers to leave their land or face prosecution for trespass. The maize harvest is expected to be equally dire and price controls to contain hyperinflation have emptied the stores of most other foodstuffs. The World Food Programme says at least 3 million people - one in four of the population - will need food aid in the coming months.
The agriculture minister, Rugare Gumbo, has blamed the food shortages on black farmers who have taken over formerly white-owned land."I am painfully aware of the widespread theft of stock, farm produce, irrigation equipment and the general vandalism of infrastructure by our new farmers," he said."I am disappointed that our new farmers have proved to be failures since the start of the land reform programme in 2000. In spite of all the support government has been pouring into the agricultural sector, productivity and under-utilisation of land remain issues of concern."
Zimbabwe, once the world's second largest exporter of tobacco, has also seen production of its main cash crop nosedive, further undermining its ability to buy food from abroad. This year's crop is not likely to be much better than recent harvests, with many farmers saying that their seedlings have died for lack of irrigation. The government's admission that the land redistribution has failed to deliver the promised boost to food production coincides with a deadline for the last white farmers to vacate their land.
Zimbabwe's economic problems are likely to be compounded by a law passed last week that compels many publicly owned companies, including foreign firms, to sell a majority of their equity to black Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe's minister of indigenisation, Paul Mangwana, said those companies that do not like it can "pack their bags and go"."If they feel that we went into the bush [to fight against white rule] for them to enjoy our wealth then they can leave. We are talking about the total liberation of this country. I have no apologies for that," he said.
Is there any country in Africa that isn't either a hellhole of despair, or teetering on the edge? I cannot imagine why taking land from people who know how to farm, and giving it to people who don't know how to farm, would be considered a good idea? Hmmmm.....maybe it's never a good idea to ever make any decision based on the color of a person's skin, rather than on merit? Naw, that'd be too crazy.
posted by O.C. Mike at
3:46 PM
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