The banks stepped into the land battle today stating that they would like to start a fund for black farmers. The obvious reason behind this offer from the banks is they are at risk of losing billions in farm loans. This fund would assist the black farmers in purchasing the land at the correct market prices. How many black farmers would come forward now the "free" has disappeared.
The free word is a massive draw card unfortunately but if you are a farmer that is going to be assisted in owning a farm that you have to work to repay surely you should accept it with open arms. The world today is full of too many takers and the givers have had enough. Africa should be doing well as a continent in the amount of foreign aid they receive but it doesn't get to where it was meant to go. The world is waking up to this as charity should start in your own country first.
I read an article about a white farmer returning to his old farm in Zimbabwe and what he found. His farm was divided up for 29 families and was totally destroyed. All the cattle ha been eaten or sold, barns had been burnt down and destroyed. Any decent tree had been chopped down for firewood. What was once left of a thriving farm had long gone. The 29 families had left and gone back to where they had come from. That is what the word "free" does as there is no care and appreciation for what you have.
I understand the rationale of balancing out the land owned percentages in the country, but by giving it away is not the answer. If someone gave me a farm would I cope without the skills required and a hefty bank balance to boot? I would probably fail and now take a farm and divide it up to people with little or no skills and no money , you will have a famine on your hands in no time.
There is no easy solution to this outcome but what the banks have proposed is a start at least. The government owns over 4000 farms and I would like to know how those are run. Of the 4323 farms in the governments possession only a small percentage have been handed out due to legal wranglings and disputes. The disputes are by the land claimants , so it is in house squabbling dividing up the spoils that is holding up the process. This tells me then that those 4000 odd farms are not even being used so why are they trying to get more.
The one farm that has been in a legal battle is a game farm. Drill tests have shown it is rich in coal so no farming would even happen there. Farms will be cherry picked and they will not even end up as farms or going to the people. There is always a reason behind the reason and we are discussing this 24 years after the government took power.
As I have often said nothing makes any sense and all I can say is thank god no oil has been found as you can imagine what would happen with this lot.
