Don’t rush into mass land re-distribution, warns MDC

ZIMBABWE’S main opposition party has warned Namibians not to rush into a popular and emotional mass land distribution programme.

William Bango, envoy of the president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, was in Namibia last week to deliver a message from Tsvangirai to Congress of Democrats leader Ben Ulenga. “I think what Namibians should do is to go to Zimbabwe and study what has happened there before rushing into this,” Bango said, responding to a question during a breakfast talk in Windhoek.”Wholesale empowerment” programmes were “bound to fail unless they are underwritten by massive international” financial support, he added, saying mass empowerment had failed in Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda.”If you are going to empower such a large number of people, you need such empowerment to be underwritten by the international community, otherwise you will live to regret it,” he said.The mere announcement of wholesale expropriation caused farm owners to stop building up and developing their farms.He said the land issue was emotionally loaded in Zimbabwe but its misuse had brought misery to the country.Productivity had slumped drastically and more people than officially estimated would need food aid in the next two to three years, said Bango.The mishandling of the land reform programme had caused many Zimbabweans a lot of misery – something they had not imagined 10 years ago.Zimbabweans had reached a “debased” level: “they sleep in railway stations, they sleep in toilets.We are at our most humiliating level.Zimbabweans used to go on holiday.”Asked what role Namibia could play to help solve the political crisis in Zimbabwe, Bango said the MDC wanted his country’s neighbours to insist that President Robert Mugabe and his regime allow free and fair elections to be held according to Southern African Development Community’s “norms and standards”.Swapo is a close ally of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu PF).Bango did not meet any Swapo or Government officials.”I think what Namibians should do is to go to Zimbabwe and study what has happened there before rushing into this,” Bango said, responding to a question during a breakfast talk in Windhoek.”Wholesale empowerment” programmes were “bound to fail unless they are underwritten by massive international” financial support, he added, saying mass empowerment had failed in Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda.”If you are going to empower such a large number of people, you need such empowerment to be underwritten by the international community, otherwise you will live to regret it,” he said.The mere announcement of wholesale expropriation caused farm owners to stop building up and developing their farms.He said the land issue was emotionally loaded in Zimbabwe but its misuse had brought misery to the country.Productivity had slumped drastically and more people than officially estimated would need food aid in the next two to three years, said Bango.The mishandling of the land reform programme had caused many Zimbabweans a lot of misery – something they had not imagined 10 years ago.Zimbabweans had reached a “debased” level: “they sleep in railway stations, they sleep in toilets.We are at our most humiliating level.Zimbabweans used to go on holiday.”Asked what role Namibia could play to help solve the political crisis in Zimbabwe, Bango said the MDC wanted his country’s neighbours to insist that President Robert Mugabe and his regime allow free and fair elections to be held according to Southern African Development Community’s “norms and standards”.Swapo is a close ally of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu PF).Bango did not meet any Swapo or Government officials.