Outspoken Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to repeal the Statutory Instrument number 162 of 2020 which he said seeks to reverse the 2000 land reform exercise saying it will be a mistake to dance to the tune of the west which did not act when the Indigenization policy was scrapped off.
In a Twitter thread, Mliswa questioned if the scrapping of the Indigenization Act yielded results to warrant a further softening of the government stance on land reform.
“SI62/2020 must be repealed. Indigenisation – yes, compensation – yes. Compensation however isn’t returning the land. It’s a move prone to creating unnecessary problems. Everybody has accepted land reform so for Govt to inconsistently overturn the policy is amiss.
“What did we get when we repealed the Indigenisation Act @MthuliNcube ? …Nothing, now we want to make the same mistake with the land. To appease who? Funds may be set up for compensation or the JV route makes a lot of sense & should continue to be implemented,” said Mliswa.
He further poked holes in the introduction statutory instruments which he said have not added value to the country.
Mliswa said the instrument should be taken to the legal committee where he believes it will die a natural death.
“Where Govt owns State land the method of 99 year lease offers should apply & encompass all. Govt must remain consistent. As Hon. Ziyambi rightly said the SI should go before the legal committee where it should be dealt with once & for all.
“What has the introduction of such an unprecedented number of SIs done for the country anyway? It signifies a problem,” added Mliswa.
Opposition legislator, Tendai Biti this week also queried the government to ‘reverse the land reform’ saying the government move was unconstitutional.
“The SI says that land must go back to its original owners but there two problems.
“Land belongs to the State as said by the deputy minister, but it only belongs to the state by virtue of constitutional amendment number seven (7) of 2005 which says all land that was gazetted now belongs to the government.
“It was put in the seventh schedule of the constitution; so, in order to take land that was gazetted and give it to someone, you actually need a constitutional amendment to take away the land from the seventh schedule. What you are doing is very unconstitutional,” said Mliswa.
