JOHANNESBURG – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of praising Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF, for implementing controversial land reform policies.
This comes after Ramaphosa gave a controversial speech during his working visit to Harare over the weekend.
He was a guest speaker at the official opening of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show. In his speech, Ramaphosa said South Africa and Zimbabwe have a similar history of land dispossession.
He said it was necessary for the Government of Zimbabwe to take measures that would remedy the situation that black Zimbabweans who were landless found themselves in.
“Most of the country’s commercially productive land and large-scale commercial farms were owned by whites. The black majority was confined to communal lands and all but completely excluded from commercial farming.
“This mirrored our own experience in South Africa.
“It was, therefore, essential for both historical redress and food security, development and economic growth, that the government embarked on ambitious reforms to facilitate the entry of black Zimbabweans into productive agriculture, including support to small-scale farmers,” said Ramaphosa.
However, the DA has taken exception to Ramaphosa’s comments. They described them as praising Robert Mugabe’s party. Two decades ago, Zimbabwe was marred by farm invasions, which were part of a land reform policy known as the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). This policy resulted in the mass displacement of farmers and had negative economic effects. DA Spokesperson Willie Aucamp said Ramaphosa’s comments are irresponsible.
Leave a comment