HARARE, Sept 6 (Reuters) – When Robert Mugabe’s armed

followers stormed onto white-owned farms, the output of one of

Africa’s most prosperous agriculture sectors collapsed and the

country was driven to the brink of starvation. No issue more

clearly defines the polarising legacy of the Zimbabwean leader,

who died on Friday at 95.

Mugabe always portrayed the redistribution of land as the

central task of his mission to undo the racist inheritance of

colonial rule, and the economic crisis that followed as a

Western conspiracy. To his foes, it was a lawless grab for power

and wealth that nearly destroyed the country.

When white-ruled Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980, white

people, who made up just 5% of the population, owned nearly

three quarters of agricultural land – an imbalance that all

sides agreed had to change but without agreeing exactly how.

The issue was to form the basis of Mugabe’s infamous falling

out with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1997 and the

invasion of white-owned farms three years later that sent the

economy into a tailspin.

The redistribution of land was initially to be governed by

the Lancaster House Agreement that formed the basis of the

transition from minority rule, which allowed for the compulsory

purchase of under-used land, while requiring compensation. It

said the reform had to be delayed 10 years.

There was no formal stipulation in the agreement for Britain

to fund land programmes, although in the two decades after

independence London provided 44 million pounds for resettlement

initiatives. The United States also provided some funding.

But many white farmers dug their heels in, hiding behind the

“willing buyer-willing seller” principle, and the overall

programme achieved less than half its targets.

It was also plagued by allegations of graft, and when Blair

came to power in 1997 he made it very clear that Britain –

particularly under his left-leaning Labour party – had no

obligation to finance land redistribution.

Mugabe responded by drafting a new constitution that allowed

for the compulsory purchase of land without compensation. The

charter was defeated in a referendum in 2000.

A few days later, members of the pro-Mugabe War Veterans

Association started to occupy white-owned farms under what came

to be known as the “Fast-Track Land Reform Programme”.

For the economy, it was the beginning of the end.

Over the next eight years, GDP contracted 40% and the

currency went into a tailspin as dollars from exports and

foreign investment dried up.

Printing money only made matters worse, unleashing

hyperinflation that would go on to top 500 billion percent in

2008 before a unity government forged between Mugabe and

opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai scrapped the currency.

At the purely agricultural level, the seizures resulted in

the transfer of 8 million hectares of land – 20% of Zimbabwe’s

area – across 4,500 farms to more than 160,000 households,

according to official figures.

Many of the most profitable farms ended up in the hands of

well-connected public figures, including Mugabe’s wife, Grace.

Recent studies have suggested overall agricultural output is

getting back to mid-1990s levels, with around a third of the new

black farmers now being considered as “serious” large-scale

commercial farmers.

After Mugabe was ousted by his own armed forces in 2017, his

successor Emmerson Mnangagwa promised to compensate white

farmers who lost their land. The government set aside $6 million

from this year’s budget for initial payments targeting those in

financial distress, with full compensation to be paid later.

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