US embassy cable - 05HARARE14

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000014 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y - CAPTION ADDED 
 
STATE FOR AF/S 
USDOC FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
TREASURY FOR OREN WYCHE-SHAW 
PASS USTR FLORIZELLE LISER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON 
 
SENSITIVE, NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, PGOV, EFIN, ECON, ETRD, EINV, Economic Situation 
SUBJECT: WHITE FARMER GROUP SAYS SITUATION MIGHT IMPROVE 
FOR ITS MEMBERS 
 
 
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Summary 
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1. (SBU) Summary:  Doug Taylor-Freeme, the head of the 
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), said the pace of fast track 
land reform had perceptibly slowed.  He attributed this in 
part to the efforts of Reserve Bank (RBZ) Governor Gideon 
Gono to try to restore productivity to the agriculture 
sector.  He said he is also negotiating with the GOZ for the 
return of 30 farmers' land in the Chinoyi region of central 
Zimbabwe.  Like 500 farmers nationwide, they were still 
living on their farms but had been unable to commercially 
farm due to the presence of settlers.  He hoped an agreement 
on Chinoyi would lead to deals in other regions. 
Taylor-Freeme dismissed the GOZ campaign against individuals 
who had received multiple farms as political score settling 
rather than a real anti-corruption measure. 
 
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GOZ Attitude Toward White Farmers Improving? 
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2. (SBU) CFU President Doug Taylor-Freeme told Econoff January 
5 that the ruling ZANU-PF appears to have become less hostile 
to white farmers.  Taylor-Freeme estimated that there was 
currently a net loss of only one white-owned farm per month. 
This rate is well below the rate in the early years of fast 
track land reform and even down substantially from last fall, 
when the rate was one or two farms a week. 
 
3. (SBU) Taylor-Freeme attributed part of the change to the 
fact that most farm invasions have taken place just after 
planting begins in August.  That said, he also credited the 
influence of Reserve Bank (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono, who 
Taylor-Freeme believes is quietly fighting to bring 
fast-track land reform to an end.  Taylor-Freeme said Gono 
brokered a December meeting between the CFU and Zimbabwe 
Defense Forces (ZDF) Commander Constantine Chiwenga, where 
the two sides discussed containing further farm invasions. 
At the meeting, Gono pressured Chiwenga to agree that the 
army should halt farm invasions by War Veterans and private 
militias once commercial farmers had planted their crops. 
Gono argued that the economy could not afford to lose crops 
already in the ground. 
 
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White Farmer Prospects May be Improving as Well 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
4. (SBU) Taylor-Freeme said he is close to a deal with the GOZ 
that would enable 30 idle white farmers in the Chinoyi area 
(Mashonaland West) to return to farming.  These whites 
continue to occupy their farmhouses but there are settlers on 
their land, which precludes them from commercial-scale 
farming.  Taylor-Freeme said nationwide there were nearly 500 
white farmers who fell into this category and he hoped the 
Chinoyi deal, if successful, would become a model for other 
parts of the country.  He noted that around 550 of 4,500 
white farmers are still engaged in agriculture on a 
significant scale, so this approach could potentially double 
the number of white commercial farmers and that in turn could 
help restore productivity to the agricultural sector. 
 
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But GOZ Corruption Remains an Obstacle 
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5. (SBU) Taylor-Freeme denied that Lands Minister John Nkomo is 
aggressively reclaiming properties from multiple farm 
recipients, most of them government insiders who were not 
interested in serious farming but treated the farms as 
weekend houses.  He dismissed the GOZ's very public current 
campaign as being directed against just a handful of ZANU-PF 
figures, all of whom had recently fallen out of favor, such 
as Information/Publicity Minister Jonathan Moyo and Foreign 
Minister Stan Mudenge. 
 
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Comment 
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6. (SBU) An agreement returning land to the Chinoyi farmers 
would be a significant step in the right direction by the 
GOZ.  It would mark a departure from land reform driven by 
ideology and could herald more pragmatic, productivity-driven 
policies.  The success of this effort may very well depend on 
STATE FOR AF/S 
USDOC FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
TREASURY FOR OREN WYCHE-SHAW 
PASS USTR FLORIZELLE LISER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR PGOV EFIN ECON ETRD EINV ZI 
SUBJECT: WHITE FARMER GROUP SAYS SITUATION MIGHT IMPROVE 
FOR ITS MEMBERS 
 
the extent to which Gono is able to maintain and expand his 
influence with Mugabe.  Gono appears personally committed to 
more rational policies but cannot deliver without the 
President's blessing. 
SCHULTZ