By Lovemore Chazingwa – News Correspondent.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (New Of The South) – Government and stakeholders in the agriculture sector should ‘get out of the trenches’ as that is not in the interest of anyone, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Honourable Patrick Chinamasa has said.
Honourable Chinamasa was addressing delegates gathered for the Initial Consultative Stakeholders Workshop on Consensus Based Compensation Mechanisms, where he was one of the key speakers at a city hotel on Thursday.
The workshop was convened as part of various interventions to address the contentious issue of compensating former farmers who had their farms compulsorily acquired under the fast track land reform program that began towards the end of the previous century.
“We’ve been in the trenches for eighteen or so years. It’s time to get out of the trenches. Being in the trenches is not in the interests of anyone, not in the interests of former farm owners , new farmers, Government, the economy,” he said.
The minister said that the people should look into the future without dwelling on past differences.
“Let by – gones be by – gones! We are now opening a new chapter. Let’s bury our differences and work together for the benefit of all stakeholders and Zimbabwe. I will not dwell on the historical issues that led to the land reform,” said Hon. Chinamasa.
He added that the government was fully committed to re-engaging the international community and former farmers:” Let me reiterate that government is fully committed to the re-engagement process. This workshop is part of the initiatives that the government has been exploring in order to normalize relations with the rest of the world including former farmers.”
The cabinet minister highlighted that they will invoke section 295 of the new constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe for the compensation models according to whether the farms are under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs), indigenous or any other category of former farmers.
The workshop was attended by Honorable Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement (MLRR) Dr. Douglas Mombeshora, Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development Dr. Joseph Made, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative Mr. Bishow Parajuli,Head of European Union(EU) Delegation to Zimbabwe Ambassador Phillipe van Damme, Reserve Bank Governor Dr. John Mangudya, members of the diplomatic corps, international organizations, permanent secretaries from various ministries, senior government officials, farmer representative organizations and various stakeholders.
The workshop was organized and hosted by the MLRR, EU and UNDP.
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