US embassy cable - 05HARARE847

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000847 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR BNEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVELLE 
USDOC FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
TREASURY FOR OREN WYCHE-SHAW 
PASS USTR FOR FLORIZELLE LISER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON 
US MISSION GENEVA FOR JOHN CHAMBERLIN 
USDOL FOR ROBERT YOUNG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, EFIN, EINV, KIDE, PGOV, KSPR, ZI, Land Reform 
SUBJECT: 2005 ZIMBABWE REPORT ON INVESTMENT DISPUTES AND 
EXPROPRIATION CLAIMS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 70014 
 
1. (U) The U.S. Government is aware of seven expropriation 
claims of U.S. persons that may be outstanding against the 
Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ).  All seven claims arise out of 
the GOZ's Land Resettlement Program, which commenced in 2000. 
 In the past year, the general pace of land reform has 
considerably slowed.  However, one additional American 
property owner (Claimant F) was dispossessed of his land. 
 
2. (U) Under its continuing Land Resettlement Program, the 
GOZ has targeted almost all farm or wildlife property owned 
by non-indigenous landowners for compulsory acquisition.  The 
GOZ has consistently maintained that no compensation will be 
made for land itself, but that compensation will be made for 
improvements to the property.  However, to date, the GOZ has 
not compensated any American claimants for either acquired 
property or improvements to property.  Disruptions posed by 
land reform and the economy's generally chaotic conditions 
complicate meaningful valuation of the land or of any 
improvements made.  However, the values of the seven American 
citizen claimant properties at issue range from USD 200,000 
to more than USD 2,000,000. 
 
3. (U) Despite various GOZ statements to the contrary, there 
has been no progress either on the ground or in the courts to 
resolve ownership, possession, and compensation issues for 
the American-owned properties.  Because of the current 
judicial and political chaos, it is difficult to state 
precisely when any of the seven landowners was legally 
dispossessed. Therefore, the dates of expropriation offered 
below are approximations only. Many of them continue to press 
claims and challenges to GOZ acquisition of their properties 
through Zimbabwe's courts.  However, even in instances where 
Zimbabwean courts issue favorable rulings to such challenges, 
the police and District Land Administrators usually refuse to 
enforce the rulings. 
 
4. (U) Post continuously tracks the situation of all seven 
properties, all of which have received either Preliminary or 
Final Notices of Acquisition from the GOZ.  Most of the 
American citizens affected have not asked the Embassy to 
intervene beyond raising the issue of compensation with 
appropriate GOZ officials in our normal course of meetings 
and through diplomatic notes. 
 
5. (U)      a.  Claimant A 
 
b.  2002 
 
c.  Claimant A reported that his property had been invaded by 
approximately eight war veterans, and that a prosperous and 
well-connected Zimbabwean was grazing his cattle on the 
property.  Approximately 60 sables had been released from a 
grazing pen and had subsequently disappeared -- either 
escaped from the property or poached.   Although contact has 
not recently been made with Claimant A, there has been no 
report that the occupiers or the livestock have been moved 
off of the property. 
 
Claimant A continues to be denied access to his property 
despite a favorable ruling through the Zimbabwe High Court. 
The farmhands still remaining on the property reported 
widespread looting of the premises. 
 
 
6. (U)      (Claimant B from last year's report passed away 
in 2004 and there are no surviving American citizen claimants 
to the land; accordingly, we removed this claim from the 
expropriation report.) 
 
 
7. (U)      a.  Claimant B 
 
b.  2002 
 
c.  Claimant B has an 85-hectare flower-exporting farm that 
has been listed for compulsory acquisition under an initial 
notice of acquisition (Section 5 notice).  Claimant B is 
awaiting a court ruling on the GOZ,s claim to his property. 
 In 2004, the Mashonaland East Governor signed a 
&delisting8 form but the Local Government and Land 
Ministries refused to assent.    Claimant B then attempted to 
sell his property to a nephew of the Chief Justice of 
Zimbabwe's Supreme Court, but the sale fell through as the 
nephew reneged on payment.   Claimant B is off the farm, and 
the head of GOZ armed forces General Constantine Chiwanga 
currently farms the land.  According to Claimant B, there has 
been no significant development in his case during the past 
year. 
 
 
8. (U)      a.  Claimant C 
 
b.  2003 
 
c.  Claimant C, received a final notice of acquisition 
(Section 8 notice) in January, 2003   Claimant C purchased 
the 7,618-hectare property in 1985 with Zimbabwe Investment 
Center (ZIC) certificates to run a hunting and photographic 
safari business.  Although still on the land, Claimant C has 
subsequently stopped his safari business as he claims 
invaders have poached all of the game.  Claimant C is 
protesting the acquisition through Zimbabwe's courts. 
After receiving permanent residency in South Africa, Claimant 
C has been laying the groundwork to emigrate but has been 
unable to secure the proper documentation to move personal 
belongings out of Zimbabwe. 
 
 
9. (U)      a.  Claimant D 
 
b.  2002 
 
c.  Claimant D's rural wildlife-based property, which was 
transferred from a Zimbabwean spouse to a trust benefiting 
the couple's two American children, is located in the 
district of Hwange.  Claimant D used the 420-hectare property 
primarily for hunting and photographic safari purposes. The 
Government has allocated the property to a Zimbabwean settler 
who has done nothing with the land.   Claimant D left the 
farm on October 1, 2002, and the settler kicked off all 
Claimant D's employees by March 2004. Since that time, there 
has been no substantial change in the situation on the 
ground.  Claimant D has asked the Embassy not to pursue this 
case through official channels. 
 
10. (U)     (Last year's report's Claimant E has made no 
contact with the Embassy for more than two years and we are 
unaware of her whereabouts; accordingly, we recommend taking 
this claim out of the expropriation report.) 
 
 
11. (U)     a.  Claimant E 
 
b.  n/a 
 
c.  Claimant E has received a Section 5 notice but is still 
in possession of the property in the Bikita District in 
southern Zimbabwe.  The property is dedicated to a 
26-property wildlife conservancy containing both black and 
white rhinos.  The GOZ has announced plans to implement a 
land tenure scheme whereby title of conservancies reverts to 
the State, which then grants a 25-year lease to each property 
owner.  In return, the current owners would agree to 
indigenize their businesses through shareholder equity.  The 
25-year leases would be automatically renewable, but not 
transferable. Claimant E has said he would rather pull out 
than pay rent for property he has already purchased, but 
continues to negotiate with the GOZ along with other 
Conservancy spokesmen.  Ambassador Dell raised Claimant E,s 
case with Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema, who 
indicated that he would like to see Claimant E and the rest 
of the conservancy join the Trans-Frontier Conservation Area 
(a park linking tracts in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South 
Africa).  Charge, d'Affaires Schultz also met with Claimant 
E at the Embassy. 
12.         a. Claimant F 
 
            b. 2004 
 
c. Claimant F owns a 996-hectare farm in his American wife,s 
name after Claimant F,s son ran the farm into bankruptcy. 
Claimant F does not have a Zimbabwe Investment Certificate. 
Claimant F was able to move much of his irrigation and farm 
equipment off the property prior to losing control of the 
farm but lost 170 head of cattle.  Settlers first arrived on 
the farm in 2000 but Claimant F maintained good relations 
with them and local police, and he continued to have access 
to the farm until 2004.  From May to July 2004, Claimant F 
received Section 5 and Section 8 notices of acquisition and 
asked the Embassy to write a diplomatic note protesting the 
intended acquisition.  The Embassy did so and received a pro 
forma response.  Shortly thereafter, Claimant F was no longer 
afforded access to the farm and effectively dispossessed of 
the land.  There have been no further developments on the 
ground and Claimant F decided not to use the courts as the 
GOZ is not enforcing judgments adverse to its own interests. 
 
13. (U)     a. Claimant G 
 
            b. N/A 
 
c. Registered in 1997, Claimant G is a subsidiary trust of a 
California-registered Non-Profit Religious Organization that 
planned to establish an environmental and life skills 
teaching center operating near Kadoma.  Claimant G purchased 
the 160-hectare parcel in 1999 but has been unable to effect 
a proper transfer of title.  Nonetheless, in addition to 
having exclusive use of the land since 1999, Claimant G has 
the Agreement of Sale as proof of purchase.  In November 
2004, Claimant G received a Section 5 initial notice of 
acquisition, to which it has responded in court as well as by 
correspondence to various Zimbabwean government entities. 
Claimant G recently received a Section 8 notice of immediate 
acquisition, which it is also contesting in the courts. 
 
14. (SBU)   Please find below the identities of the claimants 
listed above as per Ref A, paragraphs 18 and 19: 
 
Claimant A: William Holmes Taylor IV and two sons, all 
American citizens, with property owned in trust by Emblehope 
Enterprises (Pvt.) Ltd., a Zimbabwean entity.  Taylor and his 
two sons are the primary beneficiaries.  No PAW signed. 
Claimant B: Edward Galante, an American citizen, with the 
property owned by Machera Farming Enterprises (Pvt.) Ltd., a 
Zimbabwean entity.  Galante and his two AmCit children are 
the primary beneficiaries.  No PAW signed. 
Claimant C: Sam and Janet Chambliss, both American citizens. 
The property is owned by Twin Springs Conservancy (Pvt.) Ltd. 
with Sam and Janet Chambliss as the sole shareholders.  No 
PAW signed. 
Claimant D: Debbie Rabinovitch and minor children Diane and 
Desmond Rabinovitch, all American citizens.  The property is 
owned by a Zimbabwean trust of which Diane and Desmond are 
the beneficiaries.  No PAW signed. 
Claimant E: Weldon and Kathy Schenck, both American citizens. 
 The property is owned by a Zimbabwean trust due to 
interrelated obligations of conservancy landowners.  No PAW 
signed. 
Claimant F: Terry and Joan Ryan, Husband is Zimbabwean and 
wife is American citizen.  The property is owned under J.T. 
Management Consultancy (Pvt.) Ltd.  No PAW signed. 
Claimant G: Lasting Impressions Wilderness Training 
Corporation, a registered California Non-Profit Religious 
organization, which wholly owns and controls The Lasting 
Impressions Trust, a Zimbabwean entity.  Shelly Croudace, a 
director of The Lasting Impressions Trust is our contact and 
is an American citizen as well.  No PAW signed. 
SCHULTZ