Land , power and poverty Farm workers and the crisis in Zimbabwe
Steve Kibble and Paul VanlerbergheThe predicament of white farm owners in Zimbabwe has received substantial publicity. In reality, black farm workers have been among the hardest hit by the recent crisis. In 2000, some 30,000 of them were displaced in illegal land occupations by the so-called 'war veteran' groups.
This briefing explains the farm workers' plight in the context of the unfolding political and economic crisis. It traces the roots of their predicament to the way in which land policies and the commercial farming sector have developed from colonial times to the present. The authors argue that Zimbabwe desperately needs land reform, but that it must be a transparent process in which the poor, including farm workers, play an active role.