MAZOWE
–
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
on
Monday
handed
out
title
deeds
to
10,000
A1
farmers
and
launched
a
US$2
billion
irrigation
scheme,
pledging
to
transform
small-scale
farming
into
a
climate-resilient,
year-round
enterprise.
At
a
ceremony
held
at
Craigengower
Farm
in
Mazowe,
Mashonaland
Central,
Mnangagwa
said
the
so-called
A1
Irrigation
Productivity
Booster
Kits
would
mark
a
turning
point
in
Zimbabwe’s
push
for
food
security.
Each
participating
farmer
is
set
to
receive
irrigation
equipment
worth
US$6,000,
financed
through
a
loan
facility
to
be
repaid
over
seven
years.
“This
programme
will
free
our
farmers
from
dependence
on
rainfall
and
ensure
food
security
for
our
nation,”
Mnangagwa
said,
promising
that
the
scheme
would
eventually
cover
300,000
beneficiaries
nationwide.
But
while
the
handover
was
pitched
as
a
milestone
in
agrarian
reform,
legal
experts
immediately
raised
doubts
over
the
legitimacy
of
the
“title
deeds”
given
to
farmers.
Prominent
lawyer
and
opposition
politician
Fadzayi
Mahere
described
the
exercise
as
unconstitutional.
“The
constitution
does
not
allow
for
private
ownership
of
agricultural
land.
Sections
72(4)
and
72(5)
make
it
clear
that
all
agricultural
land
belongs
to
the
State.
Title
deeds
for
such
land
were
cancelled
after
the
land
reform
programme,
and
the
law
only
permits
the
State
to
issue
permits,
offer
letters
or
leases
—
not
title
deeds,”
Mahere
said.
She
added
that
the
documents
distributed
by
government
“are
of
no
force
or
effect”
and
would
not
be
recognised
by
banks
as
security
for
loans
or
lawful
transfers
of
land.
The
irrigation
initiative
is
also
drawing
comparisons
with
the
controversial
Command
Agriculture
programme,
which
left
treasury
saddled
with
billions
of
dollars
in
debt
amid
accusations
of
massive
corruption.
Critics
argue
that
the
new
irrigation
kits
are
overpriced.
One
government
critic
said:
“The
kits
cost
less
than
US$2,500
on
the
market.
Farmers
are
being
forced
to
take
on
a
US$6,000
debt,
leaving
US$3,500
per
kit
to
be
skimmed
off.
Multiply
that
across
the
300,000
targeted
farmers,
and
it’s
a
potential
US$1
billion
scandal.”
Such
concerns
have
fuelled
suspicion
that
the
scheme
could
be
another
state-backed
mechanism
for
looting
under
the
guise
of
empowerment.
The
controversy
deepens
with
the
involvement
of
businessman
Kudakwashe
Tagwirei,
a
close
Mnangagwa
ally
who
chairs
the
Land
Tenure
Implementation
Committee.
Tagwirei
is
also
a
major
shareholder
in
CBZ,
the
bank
spearheading
the
loan
programme.
Analysts
warn
that
this
dual
role
raises
serious
conflicts
of
interest,
with
fears
that
CBZ
could
ultimately
seize
vast
tracts
of
farmland
from
farmers
who
default
on
their
loans.
“The
scheme
is
diabolical
in
its
simplicity.
What
looks
like
liberation
is
debt
bondage.
What
looks
like
development
is
theft,
institutionalised
at
scale,”
one
critic
observed.
Food
Security
vs.
Political
Patronage
Government
insists
the
irrigation
drive
is
about
climate-proofing
agriculture
and
boosting
productivity.
Mnangagwa
cited
improvements
in
grain
output
in
recent
years
as
evidence
that
state-led
interventions
are
bearing
fruit.
Yet
the
questions
over
the
legal
standing
of
the
title
deeds,
the
true
cost
of
the
irrigation
kits,
and
Tagwirei’s
central
role
cast
a
long
shadow
over
what
was
meant
to
be
a
flagship
initiative.