HARARE - South Africa has told Zimbabwe that the land reform programme has worsened relations between the countries as lawless mobs continue evicting farmers of South African origin in defiance of a bilateral investment protection treaty.

So tense is the situation that Vusi Mavimbela, the SA ambassador to Zimbabwe, yesterday said his embassy had asked its government to intervene because diplomats stationed here were overwhelmed.

“Some of these things have gone beyond the level of the embassy because we are just a diplomatic mission that cannot do much but need state-to-state dialogue,” said Mavimbela.

Some of the South African farmers have been left destitute after being evicted from their properties by violent militants mostly loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

The militants, said Mavimbela, appeared to enjoy immunity from the law as police refused to act in most instances. 
Such lawlessness, he said, was affecting South Africa’s appetite to invest in Zimbabwe.

Mavimbela made the damning assessment of Harare’s policies after meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to table concerns on the continued invasion of land belonging to South Africans. 

Mavimbela, a veteran of the apartheid war in South Africa and a former intelligence operative, said the continued attacks were in violation of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (Bippa) signed between Pretoria and Harare in 2009.

“One of the issues we raised with the Prime Minister was our concern in the manner in which farm invasions still take place in this country. We have a number of South African farmers who were evicted from their farms recently. We believe that the process that was followed is not anything that we can be proud of,” said Mavimbela.

South Africa and Zimbabwe signed an investment protection agreement two years ago which was meant to protect South African investors operating in the country from evictions and unnecessary attacks.

Part of the agreement signed by the two governments protects investments made by South Africans and provides for compensation for expropriated farms.

Recently, South African farmers Koos Smith of De Rust Farm and Tiennie Van Rensburg of Rueben Farm in Nyazura were evicted by a mob loyal to president Robert Mugabe, leaving them destitute.

“Some of the things seem to be happening not only to the South African companies, but also to the farmers and this has got a possibility of violating the agreement. We raised that concern,” Mavimbela said.

“Some of the clauses in that agreement say that even if farmers are evicted they need to be compensated for improvements made on the farms,” he said.

He said the Zimbabwean government has failed to own up to its promise despite appending its signature to the investment protection treaty.

South African, as the continent’s biggest economy, is a significant investor in Zimbabwe.

Its president, Jacob Zuma, is the regional point man to the transitional political process, making the country a key player in Zimbabwe.

Mavimbela blasted the police for failing to stop farm invasions even in circumstances where evidence of violations was blatant.

“There are instances where people just walk in the farm and tell the farmer that they are taking over the farm without producing any documentation to show that they are entitled to the farm."

“We have talked to the police to say can you intervene and these people have come into the farm, with nothing as proof to show that they are entitled to it."

“We have raised these issues with the police but in some instances they are there and say we can’t intervene, we have been told not to intervene. 

“The law is not followed properly that is why we call them invasions,” said Mavimbela.

He also had no kind words for the country’s controversial black empowerment law saying it is good in principle but impracticable.

He said there was need for dialogue before the responsible ministry threatened to revoke licences of foreign firms operating in the country that had not submitted their indigenisation plans.

“We tell the South African companies that they should abide by the law of the country but if the law of the country is to be implemented, it must be implemented in such a way that it is actually practicable in implementation. It is not the principle that we are against. We are prepared to abide by the laws of the country,” said Mavimbela. 

By Daily News