Mugabe Assures Whites That They Won't Be Left Landless Posted: Friday, August 16, 2002 (The Herald) PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's ruler, has assured whites that they will not be left landless or homeless under an ongoing land reform programme in the southern African nation. Zimbabwe has embarked on a programme to redistribute land, which was hitherto in the hands of a white minority numbering less than 3 000, while the black majority - about 12 million -was condemned to infertile land measuring less than 30 percent of the country's total arable land.
Mugabe told a visiting American delegation on Thursday that some white farmers did not want to lose the privilige of owning many farms hence their reluctance to vacate properties designated for resettlement.
Several white farmers have been arrested in the past few days for defying Government directives to have vacated designated farms by Saturday.
Mugabe also reiterated that Zimbabwe did not fear the might of Britain and its Western allies when it came to the question of sovereignty.
The Zimbabwe government, he added, would remain resolute in its quest to equitably redistribute land even when some African countries seemed to waver in support.
"Britain is a great nation and so is the United States. But it does not mean we will fear that greatness when our sovereignty is at threat," he said.- The Herald-SNNi
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