Outspoken former Norton legislator and independent politician Temba Mliswa has launched a blistering attack on Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka, accusing him of corruption, undermining Zimbabwe’s land reform programme and presiding over controversial land decisions that allegedly disadvantaged black farmers.
By Advent Shoko
Mliswa’s remarks come amid growing political and public debate following government’s announcement that 67 farms protected under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPA) will be returned to former European investors as part of efforts to honour international obligations.
The development has reignited long-running tensions over Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, with critics warning that the move could be viewed as a gradual reversal of the country’s post-2000 land redistribution policy.
In strongly worded remarks, Mliswa alleged that Masuka had become “very corrupt” while overseeing land-related government programmes and accused him of working with provincial officials in what he described as a coordinated land cartel.
“Under the guise of these Gvt programs, Minister Masuka had become very corrupt. He had become the most corrupt person on land issues, which is why he was removed from that portfolio,” Mliswa said.
“Innocent people lost their land under him. There was connivance involving Provincial Ministers and Provincial Lands Officers. There was a whole cartel that ran the scam.”
Mliswa further claimed that Masuka was effectively reversing the land reform programme by allegedly promising some white former commercial farmers that they would regain ownership of farms acquired during the fast-track land reform exercise.
“He was basically reversing the Land Reform alone, as he promised white farmers that they would get back their farms,” Mliswa said.
“As a technocrat, he is a good talker and can present believable reports in Cabinet, yet on the ground, there isn’t much happening, or something contrary is actually happening.”
The outspoken politician also accused the minister of failing to improve conditions in the agricultural sector, alleging that farmers continue to struggle with poor producer prices and corruption linked to government-backed agricultural programmes.
“Very little has improved in the sector since he assumed office. Farmers are still crying about producer prices. There is corruption in the rehabilitation of rivers,” Mliswa said.
“All they focus on is the Presidential Inputs programme, where they inflate prices and swindle Gvt. So the President made a good decision in removing him, as such characters are incompatible with Vision 2030.”
Mliswa also warned that more allegations involving senior government officials would be exposed in future.
“A time is coming for us to expose all these people who are tsvuku kuviri in Gvt. We don’t need them to achieve a middle-income economy,” he said.
He, however, expressed hope that the newly appointed minister, Hon Felix Haritatos, would protect the land reform programme and resist attempts to reverse its gains.
“I trust the new Minister Hon Haritatos will not follow that path and will defend the Land Reform revolution, which the very blacks it was supposed to empower were selling out,” Mliswa added.
The accusations come at a sensitive time for government as authorities attempt to balance international re-engagement efforts with preserving the political legacy of land reform, one of the most defining and polarising chapters in Zimbabwe’s post-independence history.
Government has insisted that the return of selected BIPPA-protected farms does not amount to reversing land reform, but is instead part of fulfilling constitutional and treaty obligations tied to bilateral investment agreements signed before the land seizures.
Responding to concerns in Parliament on last Wednesday, Masuka said the process affects only a limited number of farms protected under international agreements and should not be interpreted as a return to the pre-land reform era.
“The BIPPA process is about resolving outstanding legal obligations relating to investments protected under bilateral agreements. It should not be mistaken for a return to the pre-land reform era,” Masuka told Parliament.
According to government, the 67 farms earmarked for return are part of broader efforts to resolve investment disputes, improve investor confidence and normalise relations with the international community.
Masuka said the move would be implemented within the framework of the Constitution and would not alter the broader land redistribution programme introduced during the fast-track land reform exercise in the early 2000s.
At the same time, government says it is moving to regularise land ownership for hundreds of thousands of black farmers who benefited from land redistribution but still lack secure tenure documentation.
Authorities say approximately 450,000 farmers are expected to receive permits, leases and offer letters under the programme. These include around 360,000 A1 farmers, 23,500 A2 farmers and more than 70,000 farmers under older resettlement schemes.
Government is also reviewing historical land administration disputes, with 840 farms that were wrongly gazetted expected to be restored to black farmers identified as rightful beneficiaries.
In addition, about 10,000 Matenganyika farmers who received leases before Independence are expected to receive title deeds for the first time.
Masuka further told Parliament that government had developed a separate arrangement for 409 former commercial farmers who remained on their farms under peaceful co-existence agreements with resettled farmers. Under the new framework, they will be allowed to purchase the land they currently occupy.
Authorities say the measures are aimed at bringing legal certainty, stability and long-term confidence to Zimbabwe’s land tenure system while safeguarding the gains of land reform.
The renewed debate underscores how land remains one of Zimbabwe’s most politically sensitive issues more than two decades after the fast-track reform programme reshaped ownership patterns, displaced white commercial farmers and redefined the country’s agricultural economy.
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