Land reforms threatened by a ‘reformist government’

Kuthula Matshazi

IN SEVERAL conversations with colleagues about the possible scenarios after the Presidential election results are announced in Zimbabwe, I have asked one question that has not been adequately answered or completely avoided.
The question is how would a new reformist government reconcile the preservation of the current popular and people-based land reform on the one hand and pressures from markets and political hegemons on the other to reverse the land reform and engage in a new round of pro-capital “transparent land reforms”?
Some of those I talk to respond by saying that what they need is a change of government and then they will deal with the matter later on, while others say that there is no way there can be a reversal of the land reforms. If that happens, then people would wedge a war. More...