No, Mr. Mnangagwa, stop playing the victim—the colonial master didn’t block land reform, ZANU-PF corruption did.

In the hands of those in power, history is often the first and greatest casualty. It’s a convenient tool, twisted and reshaped to suit narratives that deflect blame and preserve power. This disturbing trend is all too visible in recent statements from President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who continues to point fingers at ‘colonial masters’ for the woes of Zimbabwe’s land reform program.

Let’s be unequivocally clear: this narrative is a dangerous distortion of truth and a disservice to the Zimbabwean people. While the historical injustices of colonialism are undeniable and created the initial inequity, attributing the failure of land reform post-independence solely to external forces is a profound act of victim-blaming that ignores decades of internal mismanagement and corruption.

The Real Saboteur: ZANU-PF Corruption

The Fast-Track Land Reform Program (FTLRP), initiated in 2000, was ostensibly designed to correct historical land imbalances. Its intentions, noble on paper, were tragically sabotaged not by some lingering ‘colonial hand,’ but by the very party that championed it: ZANU-PF. The evidence is overwhelming and speaks for itself:

• Patronage and Nepotism: Instead of genuinely empowering landless peasants with the skills and resources to farm productively, vast tracts of seized land were parcelled out to ZANU-PF elites, loyalists, military personnel, and politically connected individuals who often had little to no farming experience or intention to cultivate.
• Asset Stripping: Many ‘new farmers’ were more interested in stripping commercial farms of their valuable infrastructure, equipment, and irrigation systems rather than investing in productivity. This short-sighted plundering decimated the agricultural sector, once the backbone of Zimbabwe’s economy.
• Lack of Support and Resources: Genuinely aspiring farmers, even those who received land, were rarely provided with the necessary inputs (seeds, fertilizer), financing, or extension services needed to succeed. The focus was on allocation, not productivity.
• Erosion of Property Rights: The arbitrary nature of land seizures destroyed investor confidence, both local and international, crippling the country’s ability to attract capital for agricultural development and beyond.
• Food Insecurity: The net result was a dramatic decline in agricultural output, transforming Zimbabwe from a regional breadbasket into a nation dependent on food imports and international aid – a direct consequence of internal policy failures, not colonial interference two decades after independence.

Stop Playing the Victim

Mr. Mnangagwa’s attempts to resurrect the bogeyman of the ‘colonial master’ are not just historically inaccurate; they are a cynical ploy to deflect from the current government’s own failures and accountability. The problems plaguing Zimbabwe’s economy and its agricultural sector today are deeply rooted in the corruption, cronyism, and poor governance that have characterized ZANU-PF’s rule.

True progress for Zimbabwe will only begin when its leaders stop playing the victim and start taking genuine responsibility. It requires acknowledging that the greatest impediments to land reform’s success, and indeed to the nation’s prosperity, lie within the halls of power, not in some distant historical specter. It’s time for accountability, transparency, and a commitment to policies that genuinely serve all Zimbabweans, not just a select few.

Source: Original Article