The Dilemma of Children's Right to Education in the Era of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe Re-Visited [1 ed.] 9781443899093, 9781443895354

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The Dilemma of Children’s Right to Education in the Era of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe Re-Visited

The Dilemma of Children’s Right to Education in the Era of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe Re-Visited By

Loveness Mapuva and Jephias Mapuva

The Dilemma of Children’s Right to Education in the Era of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe Re-Visited By Loveness Mapuva and Jephias Mapuva This book first published 2016 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2016 by Loveness Mapuva and Jephias Mapuva All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-9535-0 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-9535-4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary................................................................................... vii Objectives of the Book ............................................................................... ix Approach to the Book ................................................................................. xi Composition and Arrangement of the Book ............................................. xiii Introduction ............................................................................................... xv Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Exploring the Practice of Land Reform: A Global Perspective A Historical Review of the Land Question in Zimbabwe Land Administration before the FTLRP The Fast Track Land Reform Programme The Characteristic Features of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 31 The Normative Framework for Protecting Children’s Right to Education Introduction Conceptual Framework for Human Rights Human and People’s Rights: A General Overview Classification of Human Rights Instruments Providing a Normative Framework on Human Rights and the Rights of Children The Scope of the Right to Education using the 4-A Scheme Unpacking the 4-A Scheme during the FTLRP Conclusion Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 63 The Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) Conclusion

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Table of Contents

Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 69 Critical Analysis of the FTLRP Correcting a Serious Colonial Wrong Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 77 Assessing the Impact of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme on Children’s Right to Education in Zimbabwe Introduction The Effects of the FTLRP on Human Rights The Effects of the FTLRP on Children’s Right to Education Conclusion Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 103 The Fast Track Land Reform Programme Re-Visited Interrogating Literature on the Aftermath of the FTLRP Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 111 The Enduring Legacy of the FTLRP on Children of Black Former Commercial Farm Workers Deprivation of the Right to Education Uncertain Future and Change of Environment Child-headed Families Divided Families Rogue elements among remnants of children of the FTLRP The re-emergence of former white commercial farmers Bibliography ............................................................................................ 115

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

All over the world, human rights have been a fundamental (yet controversial) issue which countries are obligated to observe. State parties are exhorted by the international community to incorporate human and people’s rights into their constitutions and into attendant legislation that governs the conduct of individuals. Human rights are also vital in that they determine the modus operandi of the state towards its citizens and determine the relationship between the state and citizens. Civil society organisations have become vital cogs in the observance of human rights, given their role of providing checks and balances on state excesses. In that regard the State parties should not lose sight of the importance of human rights in policy formulation and implementation. In Zimbabwe, the Land Reform Programme was one such policy framework that sought to right colonial imbalances in terms of land allocation during which ‘landless’ people had to be re-settled. But this exercise was supposed to comply with the dictates of human rights instruments. While the concept of human rights is varied and wide, this book seeks to deliberate on children’s rights to education during the Fast Track Land Reform Programme, which tentatively commenced towards the end of the year 1999 and whose end is not yet in sight. It can be acknowledged that the people’s right to land was observed, but they were other rights such as children’s right to education which were compromised in the process. Children’s right to education does not exist in isolation but encompasses and is complemented by other rights such as the right to shelter, the right to food and clean drinking water, the right to proper housing, the right to a peaceful environment that is conducive to learning, among others. The right to education means not only that education should be afforded to children of school-going age, but also that what is on offer should transcend this to include the 4-A Scheme: Accessibility, Acceptability, Affordability, and Availability. All these are concepts that are going to form the basis for this book. A detailed discussion on the enduring legacy left behind by the FTLRP on the families of former commercial workers is provided, where the focus is on: the deprivation of education of children of former commercial farm workers; families contending with an uncertain future upon losing their employment on white commercial farms; the emergence of child-headed families; divided families as commercial farm workers (most of whom were of foreign extraction) trooped back to their home countries, leaving

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behind some of their children who were already married; the emergence of rogue elements among the unemployed youths from among the now unemployed former commercial farm workers; as well as the reengagement of former white commercial farmers by those who had acquired farms under the FTLRP but lacked the necessary resources and expertise.

OBJECTIVES OF THE BOOK

The major objective of this book is to provide a critical analysis of the impact of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Through this medium, the authors seek to critique the extent to which the politicization of the land question degenerated into chaos and rampant violation of human rights, with special emphasis on children’s right to education among other socio-economic rights. Additionally, the book strives to provide recommendations on how best to improve access to education, even in times of conflict such as the one witnessed during the FTLRP. The authors end by exhorting the Zimbabwean State to comply with international and regional instruments, notably on socio-economic rights, if the State is to answer to dissenting voices in society. Such compliance with the dictates of human rights instruments would most likely enhance peace and stability in the country. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, the book re-visits the question of the much-hyped FTLRP and the enduring impact which it has left on the victims, mostly children, and how their quest for a bright future was obliterated within a few months of the commencement of the FTLRP. Of major importance to this book is its revelation and presentation of the lives of the children of former commercial farm workers after the much-hyped FTLRP and the various lost opportunities as life for them took a nasty turn.

   

APPROACH TO THE BOOK

Data for this book was drawn from interviews with FTLRP beneficiaries, evicted white commercial farmers (whom most protagonists of the FTLRP would ordinarily accuse of being likely to provide biased and vindictive responses), evicted (and dejected) former commercial farm workers, children of commercial workers, as well as civil society organizations. Additionally, exploration of relevant literature provided valuable information and insight into the FTLRP and the modus operandi thereof. Document analysis of authoritative sources such as literature from the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) has provided invaluable information on the aftermath and effects of the FTLRP. Review of relevant international and regional instruments on socio-economic rights helped in providing a framework which State parties should adopt and comply with to realise human rights, in this case children’s right to education, among other socio-economic rights. Informal discussions with members of the public, beneficiaries of the FTLRP, teachers and former commercial farm workers provided a lens through which the authors of this book viewed the after-effects and overall impact of the FTLRP, mostly on children and former commercial workers. The authors would also hasten to say that, while they are aware that there were some former commercial farm workers who benefited from the FTLRP, the number of these was negligible, given the fact that they were accused of being sympathetic to white commercial farmers. Engagement with different stakeholders in the FTLRP on the aftermath of the land acquisition process also helped to obtain information and understand perceptions as well as attitudes towards the FTLRP by different parties.

COMPOSITION AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE BOOK

This book is made up of seven chapters and is a result of an exploratory study of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) in Zimbabwe. The main focus of the book is how the process of the FTLRP has impacted on children’s socio-economic needs, especially the right to education. Documentary analysis as well as interaction with and engagement of beneficiaries of the FTLRP, former commercial farm workers, the new commercial farmers as well as children of former commercial farm workers was used as a platform to glean information on the impact of this controversial land reform process. The book is arranged in a chronological order and comprises 5 chapters as follows: The book in Chapter 1 starts off by outlining the background to the FTLRP, which in itself was a sequel of the conventional land reform and settlement programme which had started as far back as 1981. The difference is that while the former land redistribution and resettlement project was orderly and gradual, the FTLRP was chaotic, violent and swift. It is in the context of this modus operandi that the authors of this book seek to interrogate the impact of such action by politicians on children’s socio-economic needs, especially the right to education. This interrogation of the way the FTLRP was done forms the broader aim of the book, which is to provide a critical analysis of the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education. The methodology used in extracting information from participants predominantly involved interviews. Exploration of relevant international, regional and national instruments provides the cornerstone of the discussion of children’s right to education, particularly in times of conflict. The exploration of relevant legislative instruments seeks to provide a standard under which the domestic law for the protection of children’s right to education in Zimbabwe can be evaluated. The book proceeds to provide a detailed discussion of the FTLRP and its impact on children’s right to education. The book further provides a critical analysis of the extent to which the FTLRP has violated and hindered children’s right to education in Zimbabwe and elsewhere, particularly in times of conflict. The book

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concludes by exploring the overall effects of the FTLRP on the wellbeing of the families of former commercial farm workers, with a focus on the provision of social services to children on commercial farms.

INTRODUCTION

This book is a sequel to several literary works on Land Reform in Zimbabwe and explores events on the aftermath of the exercise. Among the visibly evident impacts of the Land Reform Programme have been erratic food shortages, impaired agricultural production with a backdrop of erratic rainfall patterns, and the destruction of the once vibrant commercial farming community, which had always been credited with earning foreign exchange and bringing economic uplift to the country. Also of note, however, has been the erosion and violation of a myriad of human rights, notably freedoms of assembly, expression, and movement, as well as several socio-economic rights, notably the right to health and education. However, the thrust of this book is how the FTLRP impacted upon the right to education, an entitlement contained in several international and regional instruments, and in the Zimbabwean Constitution and the attendant national legislation. The authors of this book blame the politicization of the land reform project on those responsible for its lack of prior planning, preferring to rope in the British Government and blaming it for reneging on its promises to fund the programme. International and regional instruments explored in this book point to the deficiency of those who initiated the FTLRP as they failed to provide the necessary resources, even to the newly resettled farmers. The plundering of farming equipment by the new beneficiaries and other rogue elements contributed to the failure of the new farmers to maintain the agricultural production of the acquired commercial farms. Of note was the failure by the establishment to sustain agricultural production as well as education on the commercial farms, due to lack of appropriate resources, including infrastructure, resulting in the conversion of tobacco barns into classrooms, a development which contravenes the provisions of international instruments on the form and quality of infrastructure required for the provision of quality education. Locating the Problem Statement Prior to the implementation of the FTLRP, the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe provided employment to more than 70 per cent of the labour

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Introduction

force in the country and contributed over 40 per cent of total exports.1 In addition, it also provided food for the whole population of Zimbabwe2 and 60 per cent of all raw materials for the industry came from this sector.3 Since the start of the FTLRP, about 75 per cent of farm workers have been evicted during farm invasions.4 As a result, they lost their jobs and accommodation as well as other socio-economic services.5 Furthermore, the violent character of the land reform exercise led to gross human rights violations such as assaults, torture and loss of lives by those involved in expropriation of white commercial farmland. Farm schools were also affected when the farm owner was served with an eviction order.6 The maintenance of schools, which had previously been under the farm owner, ceased leading to the closure of most farm schools. Although the employment and payment of teachers fell under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, the fact that some schools were closed led to loss of jobs and salaries. The same happened to health institutions such as clinics on the farms, leading to their closure.7 In addition, those former farm workers who were fortunate enough to benefit from the FTLRP were resettled in places where there were no social amenities or utilities such as water, schools, clinics and sanitation.8 Since jobs were lost, it became difficult for the evicted farm workers to fend for their families, leading to rising poverty and hunger.

1

Zikhali P ‘Fast Track Land Reform and Agricultural Productivity in Zimbabwe’ Environment for Development Discussion Paper Series (2008) 2. See also Hove M & Gwiza A ‘The Fast Track Land Reform Programme and Food Insecurity: A case of Zimbabwe from 1992 to the present’ (2012) 2 (8) American International Journal of Contemporary Research 282. 2 Zimbabwe’s population was estimated at 11 634 663 in 2002. 3 Mushunje A Farm Efficiency And Land Reform In Zimbabwe (Unpublished PhD thesis in Agricultural Economics, University of Fort Hare, 2005) 1. 4 Hellman A ‘Zimbabwe: One Million Casualties of Land Reform’ Inter Press Service News Agency January 25 2010 1. 5 Sachikonye LM The Situation of Commercial Farm Workers after Land Reform in Zimbabwe A report prepared for the Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe (2003) 7. 6 Sachikonye LM (2003) 7. 7 Sachikonye L ‘Land reform and farm workers’, in Harold-Barry D (ed.) Zimbabwe: the Past is the Future (2004) 72. 8 Sachikonye L (2004) 72.

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These developments translated into a deprivation of basic needs such as food, health centers, clean drinking water, housing and sanitation,9 which had a negative impact on the realisation of the right to education.10 As a result, the takeover of commercial farms impinged on the different socioeconomic rights, not only of commercial farm owners and their workers but also of their respective families. Research Objectives The aim of this book is to re-visit the land question in Zimbabwe, with special reference to the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education in Zimbabwe. The book is guided by the following subobjectives: 1. To examine the international and regional legal framework providing for children’s right to education as it applies to Zimbabwe. 2. To examine the impact of the FTLRP on the right to education in Zimbabwe. 3. To analyse steps taken by Zimbabwe in providing for children’s right to education during the FTLRP. Significance of the Book It is acknowledged that much has been written about the FTLRP in Zimbabwe. However, this study, through presenting children as victims of the violation of the right to education during the FTLRP in Zimbabwe, aims to contribute to existing knowledge on children’s right to education. Through reviewing relevant literature, the study also sought to fill the gap on aspects of the FTLRP that have not received much attention, notably the impact of the programme on children’s right to education in Zimbabwe. The examination of international and regional instruments in 9

Magaramombe G ‘Displaced in Place’: Agrarian Displacements, Replacements and Resettlement among Farm Workers in Mazowe District’ (2010) 36 (2) Journal of Southern African Studies 367. 10 Liebenburg S & Goldblatt B ‘Interrelationship between Equality and SocioEconomic Rights under South Africa's Transformative Constitution, The Substantive Equality’ (2007) 23 South African Journal on Human Rights 337. See Liebenburg S Socio-economic Rights: Adjudication under a Transformative Constitution (2010) 35.

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Introduction

this study helps to provide a standard under which the domestic laws and policies, providing for the protection of children’s right to education in times of conflict in Zimbabwe, can be evaluated. This research, therefore, should be of interest to a cross-section of individuals and institutions such as legislators, policy-makers and advocates of children’s rights. Future land reform programmes and policies will be informed by approaches envisioning civil, political and socio-economic rights as an integrated whole, invoking the international and regional African legal instruments.11 In addition, there are countries which are debating land issues, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, and they may also benefit from this study. Methodology In determining the impact of the land reform on children’s rights to education in Zimbabwe, the authors used documentary analysis of primary sources of law such as international conventions and protocols that seek to protect children’s right to education, the Constitution of Zimbabwe, relevant legislation and case law that relates to the land reform programme and children’s right to education. Secondary sources such as textbooks, journal articles and newspaper articles that deal with land reform and children’s right to education in Zimbabwe were referred to. Internet based publications, reports and other desktop materials were also useful for this book. Justification for the Exploration of Children’s Rights during and in the Aftermath of the FTLRP There are several reasons why this book has sought to explore children’s rights, especially in the context of Zimbabwe’s dynamic political landscape. The Land Reform Programme, ostensibly the ‘Fast Track’ Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) was a hasty political decision that was taken without much public consultation. Indications are that it was a face-saving and political survival skill that was adopted to avoid loss of political hegemony by ZANU PF protagonists. Wherever two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In the case of the FTLRP, children became the unintended victims of a dog-fight between the ZANU PF government and white commercial farmers. The tragic impact on children’s right to 11

Hellum A & Derman B (2004) 1801.

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education is explored from the lens of the observers, children who lost out on educational opportunities, as well as from the standpoint of academics and civil society organisations. A comprehensive Report by the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) of 2000 provides an overview of the goings-on of the FTLRP and the longterm impact of the Programme on innocent children and the subsequent victimization of black commercial farm workers. The aftermath of the FTLRP left most children of commercial farm workers with no substantial parental and State care. This is despite the fact that children are a salient (yet defenceless) component of society and their existence is recognized by the international community through different instruments and constitutional provisions. Children also provide future leaders who should be afforded the opportunity to develop to their full potential.

CHAPTER ONE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF LAND REFORM: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

It has been noted that land reform has been a recurring theme of enormous consequence in world history. In addition, land reform has been associated with food security as it holds the propensity of enhancing agricultural productivity and is also at the heart of sustainable development in the modern world. Land reform has also occurred in the aftermath of colonialism, an era in which the major cause of most conflicts and wars has been the equitable distribution of resources, with land being at the epicentre of this endeavour. During the Industrial Revolution land reform occurred around the world, from the Mexican Revolution of 1917, to Communist China (1952), Bolivia in 2006 and in Zimbabwe in the year 2000. In Europe, Albania has gone through three waves of land reform since the end of World War II: the land in estates and large farms was expropriated by the communist government and redistributed among small peasants; in the 1950s the land was reorganized into large-scale collective farms; and after 1991 the land was again redistributed among private smallholders (Scoones, et al, 2011). Moyo (2010) pointed out that land reform has been especially popular as part of decolonization struggles in Africa and the Arab world, where it was part of the programme for African socialism and Arab nationalism. Apart from what transpired in Europe mainly as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the attendant agrarian revolution, similar escapades were also taking place in the Middle East and North Africa. For instance, the Ottoman Land Code of 1858 was the beginning of a systematic land reform programme in the Ottoman Empire during the latter half of the 19th Century, with the overall aims of increasing state revenue generated from land and for the state to be able to have greater control over individual plots of land (Dabale, 2014). This was followed by the 1873 Land Emancipation Act. In Iran, land reform took place under the Shah as part of the socio-economic reforms of the White Revolution, begun in 1962 (Theron, 2011).

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Chapter One

Similar events have also been experienced in South Africa where land restitution was one of the promises made by the African National Congress when it came to power in South Africa in 1994 (Chitsike, 2003). For South Africa, the land reform process focused on three areas: restitution, land tenure reform and land redistribution. Restitution, where the government compensates individuals who have been forcefully removed, has been very unsuccessful and the policy has now shifted to redistribution with secure land tenure. Land tenure reform is a system of recognizing people's right to own land and therefore have control of the land. Redistribution is the most important component of land reform in South Africa. Initially, land was bought from its owners (willing seller) by the government (willing buyer) and redistributed, in order to maintain public confidence in the land market (Chitsike, 2003). In an elaborate exposé of the Kenyan experience, Owens (2005) has noted that for Kenya the complexity of the laws governing land ownership and the attendant historical genesis of how these laws were applied to different parts of Kenya, plus the abuse of existing land laws and other state powers, have allowed the irregular allocation (grabbing) of public land to a favoured and privileged few and disorganization, mismanagement and corruption at the Ministry of Lands headquarters and the various District Land Offices in the country. This implies that, in Kenya, land grabbing by the ruling elites has been commonplace for a long time and has been a bone of contention among local communities. Musemwa et al (2011) explore the land question from a developmental perspective: they note that the first Millennium Development Goal sought to halve the proportion of people living on less than US$1 a day and the number of those who suffer from hunger before 2015. In Zimbabwe, food security has been at the centre of all development goals and strategies since independence in 1980. Zimbabwe had inherited an agricultural sector characterised by duality and a racially skewed land ownership pattern. Zimbabwe’s land reform and resettlement programme can be classified into two broad phases. The first stretched from 1980 to 1997 and was based on a willing-seller/willing-buyer approach in line with the government’s policy of national reconciliation and the restrictive Lancaster House Constitution. However, in 1997 the Government of Zimbabwe initiated a process of radical land reform premised on extensive compulsory land acquisition and redistribution (Moyo, 2006). This marked the start of the second phase of the programme. The Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), which was officially launched in July 2000, was part of the second phase.

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In the various countries where the FTLRP was executed, its primary objective was to accelerate both land acquisition and redistribution, without divorcing the political aspect from the whole process. The political hand was evidently clear in the Zimbabwean case where the ZANU PF political outfit spearheaded the process, ensuring that it benefited its senior membership. The implementation mechanisms of the FTLRP are to speed up the identification of not less than five million hectares of land for compulsory acquisition for resettlement (Moyo, 2006). Compulsory acquisition was largely to be made from white commercial farmers, private companies and absentee landlords. The programme comprises two models: Model A1 is intended to decongest communal areas and is targeted at land-constrained farmers in communal areas. This model is based on existing communal area organisation whereby peasants produce mainly for subsistence. Model A2, on the other hand, is a commercial settlement scheme comprising small, medium and large-scale commercial settlements intended to create a cadre of black commercial farmers (Moyo, 2006). However, the once-thriving Zimbabwean agriculture lost its former position as the bread-basket for Southern Africa. From a net exporter of maize to a net importer, Zimbabwe agriculture plunged into mourning. In its fiscal review of 2011, the GoZ confirmed the fall in agricultural production by noting that the mining sector in Zimbabwe had contributed a significant 65% of the national exports for the country and had surpassed other sectors like agriculture and manufacturing (Moyo, 2010). In Zimbabwe, the government (ostensibly the President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF political outfit) moved swiftly from a willing seller/willing buyer approach to the FTLRP. This was accelerated by popular seizure led by war veterans associated with the ruling party (Scoones, et al, 2011). The FTLRP was designed to be undertaken in an accelerated manner relying on domestic resources. The Programme was a fundamental departure from previous philosophy, practices and procedures of acquiring land and resettling people (Moyo, 2006). However, those disadvantaged by the FTLRP were landless farm workers: large numbers of farm workers have been laid off from paid work. Ironically, farm workers were not among the groups targeted to benefit from land reallocations (Scoones, et al, 2011).

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Chapter One

A Historical Review of the Land Question in Zimbabwe During the 19th Century, the practice of colonization swept across the African continent. Different European countries parcelled out different parts of Africa, with Zimbabwe falling under British rule.1 Thus, the colonization of Zimbabwe officially began on October 13, 1888, with the signing of the Rudd Concession,2 which was an agreement between the white settlers and the Ndebele king which deprived indigenous people of their traditional land. The British settlers, comprising about 5 per cent of the population, occupied half of the agricultural land leaving the indigenous people with inadequate land for agriculture.3 This study of the land reform programme in Zimbabwe can be divided into two main phases. The first part explores the issue of land administration during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras. The aim is to lay a framework on which the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education can be understood. The second part discusses the manner in which the FTLRP was implemented and the impact that it had on human rights, particularly socio-economic rights.

Land Administration before the FTLRP Pre-colonial era (1000-1886) The Bantu people were the first people to migrate from the south of Africa around the year 1000. They crossed the Zambezi River4 into the country5 now known as Zimbabwe.6 This Bantu tribe is believed to be the ancestors 1

Lebert T ‘An Introduction to Land and Agrarian Reform in Zimbabwe’ in Rosset P, Pate R & Courville M (eds) Promised Land: Competing Visions of Agrarian Reform (2006) 41. 2 Hone B T The First Son of South Africa to be Premier, Thomas Charles Scanlen (1993) 235; Sibanda M & Moyana H The African Heritage (1999) 40. 3 Chimhowu A & Woodhouse P ‘Forbidden but Not Suppressed: a ‘Vernacular’ Land market in Svosve Communal Lands, Zimbabwe’ (2010) 80 (1) Africa: The Journal of International African Institute 14. 4 The Zambezi River is the northern boundary that separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. 5 Sean S Cultures of the world: Zimbabwe 2 ed (2004) 58. Also note that the place had no name during the pre-colonial era. During the colonial era it became known as Southern Rhodesia and later on as Rhodesia. It was only after its independence in 1980 that the country became known as Zimbabwe. 6 David L Guns & Rain: Guerillas & Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe (1985) 222.

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of the Shona people who make up the majority of Zimbabweans today.7 During the 1840s, the Ndebele people also entered Zimbabwe from South Africa and settled in the southwest.8 The two tribes, namely the Shona and the Ndebele, lived in small groups of a few hundred people under headmen, chiefs and kings respectively.9 They survived on subsistence farming, cattle rearing, hunting, carving and craft production. Some of them were involved in trade with traders who came to Africa from as far as China, India, the Middle East and Europe.10 They exchanged gold with the traders for commodities such as beads and other ornaments.11 According to their traditional agricultural methods, both tribes would cultivate a piece of virgin land for two or three years and then move to another virgin piece of land. When the land suitable for farming in the vicinity was exhausted, the whole village would shift to another area.12 The indigenous people were, therefore, semi-nomadic. As a result, villages were moved every six to eight years, mainly depending on the amount of arable land available within their easy reach.13 This was possible during that time because the population was still small, there was ample land, and residences could be easily built using mud and poles.14 As the Ndebele moved up the country in search of fertile lands, they met up with the Shona people. The Ndebele people were known to be riotous and fraught in fighting.15 Hence, the Shona people feared them as they 7

CHIKUHWA J W A CRISIS OF GOVERNANCE: ZIMBABWE (2004) 6. DI PIAZZA F ZIMBABWE IN PICTURES (2005) 7. 9 Sean S (2004) 58. Zimbabwe is a conglomeration of the two main ethnic groups which are further divided into ten ethnic groups of people. These are the Shangani/Tsonga who inhabited the south-eastern parts of the Zimbabwe plateau, the Venda in the south, the Tonga in the north, the Kalanga and Ndebele in the south-west, the Karanga in the southern parts of the plateau, the Zezuru and Korekore in the northern and central parts, and finally, the Manyika and Ndau in the east. 10 Government of Zimbabwe on line ‘The History of Zimbabwe’ available on http://www.zim.gov.zw/index.php/zimbabwe-in-brief/history-of-zimbabwe (accessed on 9 May 2013). 11 Dennis N & Brett MR Images of a Great African Park Kruger (2000) 2. 12 Dore D ‘Transforming Traditional Institutions for Sustainable Natural Resource Management: History, Narratives and Evidence from Zimbabwe's Communal Areas’ (2001) 5 (3) African Studies Quarterly 3. 13 Dore D (2001) 3. 14 Bowyer-Bower TAS ‘Criticism of Environmental Policy for Land Management in Zimbabwe’ (1996) 5 (1) Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 7. 15 Ndlovu-Gatsheni SJ ‘The Ndebele Nation’ available at 8

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Chapter One

were stealing their land, cattle, crops and their women.16 These two tribes fiercely contested the land as a natural resource. Hence, bloody tribal battles were fought for land and other natural resources amongst these indigenous people.17 During this period land was owned collectively and no individual ownership of land existed.18 The indigenous people believed that their ancestors were the owners of the land and that certain pieces of land were sacred.19 Therefore, kings, chiefs and headmen were in charge of allocating it to families, clans and villages falling under their jurisdiction.20 They also had powers to adjudicate any disputes about land and any other issues affecting the people under their leadership.21 Additionally, there were no towns or cities during this period, except for a few stone-built partially ruined fortifications found in several parts of the country, such as the Great Zimbabwe.22 Consequently, land was a source of human sustenance. Indigenous people lived and earned their living from tilling the land as subsistence farmers.23 It has been noted that their

http://rozenbergquarterly.com/?p=64 (accessed 2 April 2012). 16 Chanaiwa D ‘The Army and Politics in Pre-Industrial Africa: The Ndebele Nation, 1822-1893’ (1976) 19 (2) African Studies Review 50. 17 Masiiwa M ‘The Fast Track Resettlement Programme in Zimbabwe: Disparity between Policy Design and Implementation, The Round Table’ (2005) 94 (375) The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 217. 18 Peters BL & Peters JE ‘Women and tenure Dynamics In Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post Colonial Zimbabwe’ in Gonese F & Roth M (eds) Delivering land and securing rural livelihoods: post-independence land reform and resettlement in Zimbabwe (2003) 186. 19 Chitiyo TK ‘Land Violence and Compensation: Reconceptualising Zimbabwe's Land and War Veterans' Debate’ in Batchelor P, Kingma K & Lamb G (eds) Demilitarisation and Peace-Building in Southern Africa: National (2000) 48. 20 Andersson JA ‘The Politics of Land Scarcity: Land Disputes in Save Communal Area Zimbabwe’ (1999) 25 (4) Journal of Southern African Studies 554. 21 Chitiyo TK (2000) 48. 22 The fortifications suggest that people may have congregated at these places during inter-tribal warfare or for trading purposes. 23 Patel D ‘Some Issues of Urbanisation and Development in Zimbabwe’ (1988) 3(2) Journal of Social Development in Africa 18.

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agricultural output was enough to feed their families using the labour provided mainly by women and children to produce food crops.24 Furthermore, there was no formal education system, hence neither the Shona nor the Ndebele people had an alphabet or written language.25 Both of them had a rich oral tradition as evidenced by some remarkable rock paintings, which portray scenes relating to their hunting activities.26 In addition, other socio-economic rights such as the right to health were not protected. For example, there were no clinics, and sick people were treated with traditional medicines taken from roots, leaves and the bark of plants.27

Colonial era (1888-1979) The colonial period of Zimbabwe can be divided into four phases during which the white settlers controlled the land, the economy and political affairs. The first phase was that of the British South Africa Company (BSAC) from 1888 to 1922. Secondly, there was the Responsible Government from 1923 to 1952. Thirdly, there was the Federation from 1953 to 1963 and, lastly, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence from 1964 to 1979.

The British South Africa Company (1888 to 1922) During the 16th Century, Protestant and Catholic missionaries entered Zimbabwe, ostensibly to spread Christianity into the country.28 They introduced the first formal education system in Zimbabwe. Hence mission schools became the first source of education for the indigenous people, 24

Maravanyika S & Huijzenveld FD ‘A Failed neo-Britain: Demography and the Labour Question in Colonial Zimbabwe c.1890 – 1948’ (2010) 1 (1) African Nebula 1 (1) 25. 25 Furlong A Gender, Land and Women in Zimbabwe in the Light of Nussbaum’s Understanding of the Capabilities Approach (unpublished M Phil (Peace Studies) thesis, University of Dublin, 2003) No page numbers provided. 26 Furlong A (2003) No page numbers. 27 Akada WE Traditional African Medicine And The Benedictine Monks: A Discourse (2011) 1 (2) American Journal of Social Issues & Humanities 139. 28 Maenzanise B ‘The Church And Zimbabwe’s Liberation Struggle’ (2008) 46 (2) Methodist History 68. See also Sibanda EM The Zimbabwe African People's Union, 1961-87: A Political History Of insurgency in Southern Rhodesia (2005) 18.

8

Chapter One

and many schools still retain a strong religious affiliation.29 During the 1880s, British and German prospectors entered Zimbabwe from South Africa, under the guidance of Cecil Rhodes, in search of gold.30 This movement was prompted by the massive discoveries of gold on the Rand, now known as Johannesburg in South Africa. They obtained a treaty known as the Rudd Concession from the Ndebele King, Lobengula, which granted BSAC mining and administration rights. The Ndebele King signed the treaty in exchange for an insignificant amount of guns, bottles of wine and some money.31 Hence, the signing of the Rudd Concession marked the official colonisation of Zimbabwe.32 The Concession specified, among other terms, that the mining company could do anything necessary for its operations.33 As a result, the Concession allowed the colonisers to explore minerals in the whole country.34 As the searches infiltrated the inner parts of Zimbabwe into the highlands, gold was indeed discovered and they exploited it.35 Unfortunately, the profits did not turn out to be as they had anticipated because the gold deposits were not concentrated in reefs as in South Africa.36 Unlike in South Africa, gold deposits in Zimbabwe were scattered and therefore impossible for the mining company to extract profitably.37 After the gold deposits had been largely depleted the BSAC encouraged whites to settle for farming as an alternative means of generating income for the company. In 1890, the BSAC sponsored the settlement of whites at Fort Salisbury (now known as Harare), where land was parcelled out as farms with each farmer receiving 6 000 hectares of land. Indeed, this strategy resulted in indigenous people being dispossessed of their land.

29

Shizha E & Kariwo MT Education and Development in Zimbabwe: A social political Economic analysis (2011) 13. 30 This movement was spurred by massive discoveries of gold on the Rand Now Johannesburg in South Africa in the late 1970s. 31 Douglas RGS Zimbabwe Epic National Archives (1984) 182. 32 Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2009) 39. 33 Thomas NH ‘Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ (2003) 24 (4) Third World Quarterly 693. 34 CHIKUHWA JW A CRISIS OF GOVERNANCE: ZIMBABWE (2004) 13. 35 Lebert T (2006) 41. 36 Lebert T (2006) 41. 37 Lebert T (2006) 41.

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Unlike the indigenous people, the colonisers believed in individual ownership of land and considered it as a tool for promoting economic growth and human development. Hence, conflicts erupted between them and the Ndebele people forcing the indigenous people to rise up in the war known as the Anglo-Ndebele War of 1893-4. Unfortunately, the colonisers won the war leading to the fall of the Ndebele monarchy.38 In 1894 the colonialists established Native Reserves to suppress and force the indigenous people to work on the farms.39 This was the genesis of indigenous people working as farm workers for the colonisers. From this period, though not required by law, farmers provided for their workers’ economic wellbeing as well as for their social welfare through the provision of pre-schools, schools, clinics, and housing, water and sanitation facilities and so on.40 During this period more and more fertile land was expropriated from the indigenous people as new commercial farms were established, leading to the eviction of indigenes to less fertile areas.41 This left the indigenous people with insufficient land for agriculture and for grazing their livestock. In 1896, the indigenous people fiercely resisted the uptake of land by the colonisers in a war known as the ‘First Chimurenga’.42 As before, the indigenous people were defeated again. So as to assert their authority over the defeated indigenous people, the colonizers enacted several ordinances and pieces of legislation. Under these laws the colonisers seized about 18

38

Ndlovu-Gatsheni SJ ‘Colonial Modernity And The African world view: Theorising And Historicising religious Encounters In South-Western Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.academia.edu/1586505/Colonial_Modernity_and_African_ Worldview (accessed on 3 May 2013). 39 Dore D (2001) 3. 40 Magaramombe G ‘Displaced in Place’: Agrarian Displacements, Replacements and Resettlement among Farm Workers in Mazowe District’ (2010) 36 (2) Journal of Southern African Studies 361. 41 Douglas RGS (1984) 184. See also Wilson P Land Reform in Zimbabwe: A Development Perspective (unpublished MA thesis in Development Studies, UNISA, 2004) 19. 42 Sibanda EM (2005) 24. Chimurenga is a Shona word which means a fight, struggle or uprising.

Chapterr One

10

4 million hecttares of land43 in agro-eco ological regioons with good d rainfall 44 patterns.

As a result, more mines and a farms weere establishedd across the country c in areas wheree there was riich mineral deposits d and pprime agriculttural land respectivelyy. Obviously, this created a demand foor indigenous people’s labour, coerrcing them to work as mineers and farm w workers.45 Also during this period tthe coloniserss were in chaarge of runninng the country y. As the colonisers’ population was w growing, schools were established in i all the major townss for them. Despite D missio onaries havingg introduced education e for Africanss and being in charge of it, the t colonisers influenced th he content of what wass taught to Afr frican children n.46 Consequenntly, African education e was limited to basic literracy and a few w relevant phhysical skills to enable them to provvide the requirred labour.47 The table bbelow showss the distribu ution of landd between wh hites and indigenous ppeople in 19144. Land distriibution in 19114 Race

White Black TOTAL

Populatioon

% Popula ation

23 730 752 000 775 730

3 97 7 100 0

Accres of L Land Occcupied 19 0032 320 21 3390 080 40 4422 400

% Acres of land occcupied 47 53 100

Source: Repoort of the Presiddential Review Committee C (20003) 13.

T The Respon nsible Government (19233 to 1952) During this period, proffits from the mining comppany continu ued to go down; hencce, it resolveed to close down d in Souuthern Rhodeesia. The 1. 43 Roder W ‘The Division Of Land Reso ources In Southhern Rhodesia’ (1964) 54 (1) Annals off the Associatioon of American Geographers 441. 44 Mazingi L and Kamidza R ‘Inequalities in Zimbabwe’ in Jauch H. & Muchena, D (eds) Tearing Us Apart: Innequalities in Southern Africa (2011) 324. 45 John P ‘Black and White: The 'Perils off Sex' in Coloniial Zimbabwe’ (1990) 16 1. (4) Journal off Southern Africcan Studies 701 46 Zvobgo RJJ ‘Colonialism and a education in n Zimbabwe’ ( 1996) 37 (3) Th he Journal of African Hisstory 497. 47 Zvobgo RJJ (1996) 497. Seee also Sibanda EM (2005) 18..

Exploring the Practice of Land Reform: A Global Perspective

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colonisers opted for self-governance and the Responsible Government was granted government status in 1923.48 The new government enacted segregatory laws, which designated areas as blacks only and whites only. Subsequent to that, in 1925 the Morris Carter Land Commission created Native Reserves for ‘Master Farmer’49 graduates who were allocated up to 100 hectares of land with the intention of developing an African middle class.50 In 1930, the Land Apportionment Act was passed in order to reduce pressure for land from the indigenous people by creating separate zones for whites, Shona or Ndebele.51 In terms of the Act, it was not permissible for people from one race to buy land in areas designated for other races.52 In addition, the Act reserved about 50 per cent of the land for the colonialists, 30 per cent for the indigenous people (African Reserve Areas now known as Communal Areas) and 20 per cent for the commercial companies and the colonial government.53 The Act provoked a widespread outbreak of the indigenous people’s resistance, resulting in conflicts between the colonisers and the indigenous people.54 On one hand, the growing indigenous people’s head-count in the Native Reserves led to overpopulation and overstocking. As a result, more indigenous people were forced to work on mines and farms because of limited space to carry out their farming activities. On the other hand, restrictive laws, such as the Maize Control Act of 193155 and the Cattle

48 Windrich E ‘The Rhodesian Problem: A Documentary Record 1923-1973’ (1975) 9. 49 ‘Master Farmer’ was a training programme conducted by the Department of Agriculture Research and Extension under the Ministry of Agriculture for rural communities. Certificates were issued to those who successfully completed the course and passed the written examinations. 50 Thomas NH (2003) 693. 51 Hove M & Gwiza A ‘The Fast Track Land Reform Programme and Food Insecurity: A case of Zimbabwe from 1992 to the Present’ (2012) 2 (8) American International Journal of Contemporary Research 282. 52 Bowyer-Bower TAS (1996) 7. 53 It was set aside for the acquisition through freehold or leasehold by richer Africans or by small groups of African people. 54 Palmer R ‘Land Reform in Zimbabwe, 1980-1990’ (1990) 89 (355) African Affairs 168. 55 This was enacted to ensure that the blacks had limited markets to sell their maize so as to avoid competition between whites and blacks.

12

Chapter One

Levy Act of 193156, were introduced57 to promote discrimination in marketing.58 Consequently, competition on the market between colonisers and indigenous small-scale farmers was prohibited.59 Towards the end of the 1930s, the growing industrial sector called for a skilled labour force.60 As a result, the African formal education system was improved as an essential strategy for African economic integration. Furthermore, the indigenous people continued to be involuntarily moved.61 Meanwhile, overpopulation resulted in land dilapidation, and the colonialists believed it was caused by the indigenous people’s land practices.62 As a result, the Native Land Husbandry Act (NLHA) of 1951 was passed to reduce land degradation63 by converting the traditional tenure system into a private landholding system to ensure proper control and conservation of land. From then, the NLHA was strictly enforced following a series of resolutions passed by the European Farmers Union (EFU). They resolved to restrict African food production so as to enable their commercial farming to survive,64 as the indigenous people were leading in producing commercial beef in the country.65

The Federation (1953 to 1963) In 1953, a referendum was held on the formation of a Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and 63.45% of the voters voted in favour. During this period, educational policies were implemented to expand and improve 56 This was enacted to ensure that the number of cattle that an individual owned was reduced as each head of cattle attracted the payment of tax. Most communities reduced their number of cattle to avoid paying too much tax. 57 Thomas NH (2003) 693. 58 Masuku MM ‘Livestock Markets’ Sunday News 16 March 2013 2. 59 Cliffe L ‘The politics of land reform in Zimbabwe’ in Bowyer-Bower TAS & Stoneman C (eds) Land Reform in Zimbabwe: Constraints and Prospects (2000) 36. 60 Zvobgo RJ (1996) 497. 61 Dancaescu N ‘Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ (2003) 15 Florida Journal of International Law 619 . See also Cliffe L (2000) 36. 62 Wilson P (2004) 21. 63 Mataya C, Gondo P and Kowero GS ‘Evolution of land policies and legislation in Malawi and Zimbabwe’ in Kowero GS, Campbell BM & Sumaila UR (eds) Policies and Governance Structures in Woodlands of Southern Africa (2003) 95. 64 Masuku MM ‘Livestock Markets’ Sunday News 16 March 2013 2. 65 They were producing about 80 per cent of the commercial beef in the country.

Exxploring the Praactice of Land Reform: R A Globbal Perspective

13

African schoooling servicees.66 In 1962 the t NLHA, w which had been used to regulate priivate land allocation a and d use in thee African arreas, was abandoned.667 As a resultt, land for ind digenous peopple was again n held in trust on a coommunal basis known as “ttribal trust lannds” (TTL). Hence, H the NLHA was replaced by the t Tribal Tru ust Land Act oof 1967. Conssequently, this Act stippulated the poower of ‘comm munal’ land ttenure, in deaaling with the indigenoous people’s complaints about a land shhortages.68 Du uring this period the addult literacy raate was 39 perr cent.69

The Uniilateral Declaration of Independen I nce (1964 to 1979) Meanwhile, the coloniserrs demanded the t right to seelf-governmen nt and on 11 November 1965 the Unilateral U Decclaration of Inndependence (UDI) of Rhodesia waas signed under the Rhodessian Front Part rty.70 The victo ory of the Rhodesian F Front Party marked the end d of the educattion reform peeriod that had started during the Feederation.71 The colonial ggovernment esstablished separate schhools for inddigenous peo ople and collonisers, hencce, many conflicts eruupted betweenn the two races.72 It restricteed indigenouss people’s access to accademic educaation as well as a advanced teechnical and industrial training.73 C Consequently, policies were implementeed to exclude Africans from skilledd and better-paaying jobs. As a result, land degradaation continued as the colonnial governmeent failed to provide sufficient huuman and financial resourrces to implement the Tribal Trustt Land Act off 1967. In resp ponse, the Lannd Tenure Acct of 1969 66

Zvobgo RJJ (1996) 497. Nyambara P S ‘Immigrannts, 'Traditionall' Leaders and tthe Rhodesian State: The Power of 'Com mmunal' Land Tenure and thee Politics of Lannd Acquisition in Gokwe, Zimbabwe 19963-1979’ (2001) 27 (4) Journ nal of Southern A African Studiess 771. 68 Nyambara P S (2001) 771. 69 Institute forr African Development ‘Profille-Zimbabwe’ aavailable at http://www.innadev.org/profille_-_zimbabwe.htm (accessed on 5 May 2013 3). 70 Boddy-Evvans A ‘Unilaateral Declarattion of Indeppendence (UDI)): African History’ avaiilable at http:///africanhistoryy.about.com/od//glossaryu/g/def ef-UDI.htm (accessed on 15 March 20133). Also note th hat Southern Rhhodesia becamee known as m 1965 till 1979. Rhodesia from 71 Zvobgo RJJ (1996) 497. 2. 72 Matsikaa C Traditionnal African Ed ducation: Its SSignificance to o Current Educational Practices withh Special Referrence to Zimbaabwe (unpublisshed UMI 2 thesis, Univerrsity of Massacchusetts, 2000) 23. 73 Zvobgo RJJ (1996) 497. 67

14

Chapter One

was enacted to make stricter prohibitions of land claims on land allocated to the colonialists.74 It divided the land into two equal halves disregarding the fact that whites were only 5 per cent of the population at that time and blacks were 95 per cent.75 In 1977, the Land Tenure Act of 1969 was amended by the Land Tenure Amendment Act of 1977, which combined the Land Apportionment Act and the Land Tenure Act.76 The Amendment Act consolidated commercial farms into a general area distinct from the communally held TTL.77 In 1978, the Amendment Act was converted into the Land Tenure Repeal Act of 1978. During the same year, the Muzorewa/Smith administration introduced some educational policies which improved the quality of African education, due to the demand by industry for more African experts in different specialist areas. This resulted in a conflict between the industrialists and the commercial farmers who had depended on cheap, unskilled African labour. Commercial farmers employed hundreds of indigenous people and provided them with subsidised provision for their socio-economic needs such as housing, schools, and clinics. Hence, they felt threatened by any developments in educational and industrial spheres by the indigenous people. However, the demand for land by indigenous people continued, leading to the liberation struggle.78 This liberation struggle, locally known as the ‘Second Chimurenga’, led to the Lancaster House Agreement which ended the war and to the writing of the Lancaster House Constitution (LHC), which became the national law of the first three decades of the post-colonial era from 1980 to 2013 when a new Constitution replaced the LHC.

74 The Land Tenure Repeal Act of 1978 was influential in the enactment of the Rural Settlement Policy which was adopted at the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980. 75 Chimhowu A & Woodhouse P ‘Forbidden but Not Suppressed: a ‘Vernacular’ Land market in Svosve Communal Lands, Zimbabwe’ (2010) 80 (1) Africa: The Journal of International African Institute 14. 76 CHEATER AP ‘FORMAL AND INFORMAL RIGHTS TO LAND IN ZIMBABWE’S BLACK FREEHOLD AREAS: A CASE STUDY FROM MUSENGEZI’ IN DAVID J, PEEL Y & RANGER TO (EDS) PAST AND PRESENT IN ZIMBABWE (1983) 77. 77 CHEATER AP (1983) 77. 78 Sachikonye LM (2003) 228.

Exploring the Practice of Land Reform: A Global Perspective

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The Lancaster House Agreement (LHA) The LHA negotiated an end of hostilities and paved the way for democracy, leading to the attainment of Zimbabwe’s political independence in 1980. As a result, discriminatory laws were repealed; hence, people were free to buy land wherever they wanted regardless of their race.79 Furthermore, the agreement restricted compulsory expropriations of land from the colonialist commercial farmers during the first 10 years of independence.80 Hence, the parties resolved that no changes were to be effected on the provisions of the LHA relating to land until 1990. Likewise, the British government promised to financially support the land reform under the willing-buyerwilling-seller principle.81 It was going to meet half-way the costs of land purchase and investments such as water boreholes, schools, clinics and roads to improve the livelihoods of the indigenous people in communal areas.

Post-colonial era (1980 to date) At its independence, Zimbabwe inherited a racially biased land ownership scheme. According to the UN Development Programme of Zimbabwe Land Reform and Resettlement, in 1980 about 6 000 colonial commercial farmers owned 15.5 million hectares of land, while 8 500 small-scale indigenous farmers had 1.4 million hectares.82 Furthermore, an estimated 700 000 indigenous communal farmers occupied only 16.4 million hectares.83 These statistics clearly show an imbalance in the allocation of land, hence, the new government had to redress the injustices through land redistribution.84 In addition, the new government enacted laws to address 79

Southern Rhodesia Constitutional Conference Held At Lancaster House London Report (1979) 11. 80 Shay C ‘Fast Track to Collapse: How Zimbabwe's Fast-Track Land Reform Program Violates International Human Rights, Protections to Property, Due Process, and Compensation’ (2012) 27 (1) American University International Law Review 137. 81 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre ‘The Many Faces of Displacement: IDPs in Zimbabwe’ (2008). 82 United Nations Development Programme of Zimbabwe Land Reform And Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework For The Future Interim Mission Report (2002) 3. See also Sachikonye LM (2003) 228. 83 Sachikonye LM (2003) 228. 84 Goebel A ‘Zimbabwe's ‘Fast Track’ Land Reform: What about women? Gender, Place & Culture’ (2005) 12 (2) A Journal of Feminist Geography 148.

16

Chapter One

the inequity in land distribution. The discussion of acquiring and redistributing land has been presented in two phases below

Phase one (1980-1997) In 1980, after almost a “century of colonial subjugation, the advent of independence ushered in new expectations and goals with regard to a fair distribution of land and other natural resources.”85 The new government pursued a land acquisition strategy which sought to address the racially skewed land distribution pattern inherited at independence.86 The first ten years of independence were based on the ‘willing-seller–willing-buyer’ principle that was agreed upon in the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, during the country's independence negotiations.87 Thereafter, the new government enacted new laws and amended the existing laws to allow it to compulsorily acquire land for redistribution. In 1985, the Land Acquisition Act was passed which allowed the Government of Zimbabwe the right of first refusal on all large-scale commercial farms put up for sale.88 In 1990, Amendment 16 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe was enacted89 providing for the limitation of the degree of protection provided by the Constitution against the acquisition of land for resettlement purposes.90 In 1992, another Land Acquisition Act91 was passed in order to create a statutory basis for the National Land Policy.92 By 1996, less than 23 per cent of the white-owned commercial 85

Masaka D ‘Zimbabwe’s Land Contestations and her Politico-Economic Crises: A Philosophical Dialogue’ (2011) 13 (1) Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 333. 86 Njaya T & Mazuru N ‘Land Reform Process and Property Rights in Zimbabwe: Constraints and Future Prospects (1980-2002)’ (2010) 12 (4) Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 165. See also Lebert T (2006) 43. 87 Jansen J ‘The State and Curriculum in the Transition to Socialism: The Zimbabwean Experience’(1991) 35 (1) Comparative Education Review 82.76-91 88 Land Acquisition Act No. 21 of 1985. 89 Section 3 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act (No. 11) No. 30 of 1990. 90 Dube M & Midgley R ‘Land Reform in Zimbabwe: Context, Process, Legal and Constitutional Issues and Implications for the SADC Region’ in Bosl A, Breytenbach W, Hartzenberg P, McCarthy & Schade K (eds) Monitoring Regional Integration in Southern Africa Yearbook 2008 (2008) 8. 91 Land Acquisition Act of 1992. 92 Coldham S ‘The Land Acquisition Act, 1992 of Zimbabwe’ (1993) 37 (1) Journal of African Law 83.

Exxploring the Praactice of Land Reform: R A Globbal Perspective

17

farmland haad been bougght by the go overnment andd re-distributeed to the landless inddigenous peoople of Zimb babwe.93 In 1997, as parrt of the implementattion of the 1992 Land Acquisition Act, the government published a list of 1 471 farmlands f thatt it intended too compulsorilly acquire for redistribuution.94 From 1997, Zimbabwe saaw a deterioraation of its ecoonomic and deemocratic institutions. This resultedd in the ruling g party, Zimbaabwe African National Union-Patriootic Front (ZA ANU-PF) becoming unpopuular95, as evid denced by the results oof the consecuutive electionss held in the ccountry which h showed that the eleectorate prefeerred alternatiive political pparties.96 As a result, ZANU-PF uused the land issue i as a cam mpaign tool to regain its lostt political ground. In a bid to appeaase its membeers, especiallyy war veteranss, in 2000 the ZANU-P PF governmennt embarked on o a chaotic laand grab know wn as the ‘Fast Track Land Reform m Programmee’ (FTLRP) aas part of its on-going land reform and resettlem ment programm me.97 As previoussly mentionedd, during this phase land w was administerred under the terms oof the Lancaster House Ag greement for the first ten years of independencce.98 Compulssory land exprropriations weere prohibited d and land could only be acquired on a ‘willing g-buyer, willinng-seller’ bassis. Thus, financial ressources were required to convert large ccommercial farms fa into viable resetttlement areass for peasant or communaal farming. Hence, the British goveernment volunnteered to plaay a key role in the land reform r of Zimbabwe aafter its indeppendence by providing p finaancial assistan nce.99 The 93

Tucker N ‘In The Shadoow of Empire in i 21st Centuryy Socialism’ av vailable at http://21stcennturysocialism.ccom/article/in_the_shadow_off_empire_01694 4.html (accessed 24 March 2012). 3. 94 Mario P The Haunted Nation N 2ed (201 11) 33. 95 Sachikonyye L ‘Constituutionalism, the Electoral Systtem and Challlenges for Governance and Stability in Zimbabwe’ (2004) 4 (2) African Centrre for the D 175. Constructive Resolution of Disputes 96 Makumbe JM ‘Zimbabwe's Hijacked Election’ (20002) 13 (4) Journal J of Democracy 88. 97 Marimira S m in Zimbabwe’ Working SC (2010) ‘Livvelihoods afterr Land Reform New Resettlem Paper 6 Instittutions Leadersship and Servicce Delivery in N ment Areas of Zimbabwee (2010) 1. 98 United N Nations Develoopment Prograamme Zimbabw we Land Refform And Resettlement:: Assessment And A Suggested d Framework For The Futurre Interim Mission Repoort (2002) 4. 99 This was m mainly becausee the majority of companies and individualls were of British originn.

18

Chapter One

British further agreed to assume the responsibility of purchasing land and compensating the white farmers who wanted to leave Zimbabwe.100 During this phase, the new government targeted for resettlement the poor and landless rural farmers from the communal areas and potential entrepreneurial farmers with college certificates and ‘Master Farmer’ certificates.101 It aimed to acquire 8.3 million hectares and to distribute it through four settlement models of varying sizes and land use102 and to resettle 162 000 families.103 Consequently, in 1981, the Communal Land Act was passed to shift power from traditional rulers to local authorities, and it altered the title from Tribal Trust Lands to Communal Areas. However, in 1985, a new Land Acquisition Act104 was passed to allow the Government the right of first refusal on all large-scale commercial farms put up for sale. The Act did not have much impact since the government did not have enough money to reimburse the owners of the land. Moreover, commercial farmers were volunteering to sell land in unfertile areas to the new government. Furthermore, in 1989, an opposition political party Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) emerged as a vibrant opposition party. The emergency of ZUM took ZANU-PF by surprise, as it had never anticipated anything of that sort. During the early 1990s and up to the mid-1990s, political pressure for land reform was less intense. Hence, the ruling party comfortably won the 1990 elections, taking about 95 per cent of the parliamentary seats. In 1990, when the Lancaster House Agreement expired, the government amended the Constitution to enable it to compulsorily acquire more land.105 In 1992, the Land Acquisition Act106 was enacted to speed up the land reform process by allowing the government to compulsorily buy land for 100

Palmer R (1990) 165. Chaumba J, Scoones I and Wolmer W ‘From Jambanja To Planning: The Reassertion Of Technocracy In Land Reform In Southeastern Zimbabwe?’ (2003) 41The Journal of Modern African Studies 538. 102 United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe Land Reform And Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework For The Future Interim Mission Report (2002) 4. 103 This figure represents approximately 23 per cent of the households from the congested communal areas onto new land. 104 Land Acquisition Act Number 21 of 1985. 105 Thomas NH (2003) 699. 106 Land Acquisition Act Number 3 of 1992. 101

Exploring the Practice of Land Reform: A Global Perspective

19

redistribution, with a fair compensation.107 In terms of this Act, landowners could challenge the price set by the acquiring authority in court. In 1993 the Constitution was further amended twice. The first amendment was enacted to limit compensation to improvements on land only.108 The second amendment was passed to oust entirely the jurisdiction of courts over cases of acquisition of land by the state.109 Clearly, this had an effect of rendering impotent national and international safeguards and the fundamental rights to protection of the law, a fair hearing, and the independence of the judiciary.110 Again in 1995 elections, the then ruling party ZANU-PF won about 95 per cent of the parliamentary seats. The High Court declared the election results invalid.111 However, in the 1996 election, despite a low turn-out of voters, President Mugabe was re-elected as president.112 Soon after the presidential elections in 1996, an attempt was made by the landless indigenous people to raise the tempo in the land question. As a result, in November 1997 the government listed 1 471 commercial farms which it proposed to buy compulsorily for redistribution in terms of the Land Acquisition Act of 1992.113 The list was compiled through a nationwide exercise to identify underutilised land, derelict farms or places where the owner had more than one farm or was absent.114 Landowners were allowed to oppose the decision by submitting written objections. Unfortunately, the British government failed to fund the purchase of land by the government of Zimbabwe. 107

Land Acquisition Act Number 3 of 1992. Zimbabwe Amendment Act Nos. 12. 109 Zimbabwe Amendment No. 13. 110 The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) described the constitutional amendments as an assault on democracy and constitutionalism, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights ‘Amendments to the Constitution of Zimbabwe: a constant assault on democracy and constitutionalism’ available at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/constitution%20statementsunday%20mir ror%pdf (accessed 9 May 2013). 111 African Studies Centre ‘Zimbabwean elections’ available at http://www.ascleiden.nl/?q=content/webdossiers/zimbabwean-elections (accessed on 25 April 2013) 112 African Studies Centre ‘Zimbabwean elections’ available at http://www.ascleiden.nl/?q=content/webdossiers/zimbabwean-elections (accessed on 25 April 2013) 113 Chaumba J, Scoones I and Wolmer W (2003) 538. 114 Thomas NH (2003) 700. 108

20

Chapter One

By the end of this phase, the government acquired about 3.5 million hectares of land and resettled 71 000 families from communal areas.115 However, it should be recalled that initially the target was to acquire 8.3 million hectares of land and to resettle 162 000 families. Despite the families being resettled they faced insecurity as they did not have title deeds for the land.116 On the other hand, the government managed to construct 10 per cent of the planned roads, and 86 per cent of schools were built.117 In addition, only 34 per cent of the planned blair toilets were constructed for the 71 000 resettled families, which was far too few for such a large population group. The government cited some constitutional constraints and the lack of financial resources amid the dramatic rise in land prices as the major reasons for the non-achievement of set targets.118

Phase two (1998-2004) During phase two, the government planned to resettle landless, poor, overcrowded families, youths as well as graduates from agricultural colleges and people with experience in agriculture in a gender-sensitive manner. In June 1998, the Government outlined a programme aimed at acquiring 5 million hectares of land in which 91 000 families were targeted to be resettled.119 As a result of insecurity faced by the settlers in phase one, phase two shifted the land tenure policy towards providing 99year leases.120 This phase was expected to bring the total acquired land to about 8.5 million hectares. This phase was aimed at reducing poverty, increasing agricultural GDP, promoting environmentally sustainable land use and enhancing conditions for sustainable peace and social stability. Unfortunately, the donors of this phase failed to finance the Inception

115

United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework For Mission Report (2002) 5. 116 Matondi PB & Dekker M (2011) 3. 117 United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework for Mission (2002) 5. 118 Goebel A (2005) 149. 119 United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework for Mission (2002) 8. 120 Matondi PB & Dekker M (2011) 3.

Land Reform And The Future Interim

Land Reform And the Future Interim

Land Reform And the Future Interim

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21

Phase as per their promises, with the exception of the World Bank which assisted the pilot project with $5 million.121 In the meantime, there was little pressure for land reform from peasants and the landless indigenous people. However, this phase saw a major development in the emergence of the members of the ruling elite pursuing access to land ownership.122 Indeed, state land was leased to senior government officials such as parliamentarians, cabinet ministers, judges, civil servants and senior army officers.123 The Member of Parliament, Margaret Dongo, published a long list of senior government officials who had benefited from the land reform in Zimbabwe.124 This sparked a heated debate about the government’s promise to benefit the poor through the land acquisition and resettlement process. In other words, the resettlement programme had been turned into an ‘embourgeoisement’ process through which the elite had gained state-facilitated access to land.125 Towards the end of the 1990s, about 90 000 families still needed to be resettled in order for the resettlement programme to reach its original target of resettling 162 000 families.126 However, an official explanation was that acquisition of land through the ‘willing seller willing buyer’ approach significantly restricted the matching of demand and supply of land.127 By 1997, only 4 697 families had been resettled under this phase on about 145 000 hectares of land. As a result of the inter-related developments discussed above, a novel, but unprecedented intensity for the land question was brought about. Towards the end of 1997, the rural indigenous population ‘voted with its feet’ by moving onto state or designated land and became ‘squatters’.128 According to Goebel, this was a major political expression by the rural masses of their dissatisfaction 121

Thomas NH (2003) 698. This was aimed at testing the feasibility of two possible models for land reform that were designed to be an integral part of the Inception Phase. 122 Masiiwa M Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe: Disparity between Policy Design and Implementation Institute of Development Studies (2004) 7. 123 Masiiwa M (2004) 4. 124 Dawson M & Kelsall T ‘Anti-developmental Patrimonialism in Zimbabwe’ Working Paper 19 (2011) 13. 125 Moyo S ‘Land Reform and Development Strategy in Zimbabwe: State Autonomy, Class and Agrarian Lobby’ (1990) 6 (3-4) Africa Focus 215. 126 Sachikonye LM (2003) 231. 127 Lebert T (2006) 45. 128 Goebel A (2005) 168.

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with the pace of government in resettling people. Consequently, in mid1998, the squatting was transformed into protests for land by the landless poor in a number of districts where congestion had reached critical levels. A series of spontaneous invasions of commercial farms adjacent to overcrowded communal areas was reported.129 The first spontaneous occupation of a commercial farm occurred first in Svosve village in Mashonaland Province.130 This was followed by the Nyamandhlovhu farm invasions in Matabeleland province. 131 The media reports in the country from July to September 1998 described these invasions as ‘landmark events’ that accelerated or enhanced processes of disconnection between the state and the landless poor.132 The impatient landless people forcibly moved onto commercial farms to try and force the government to give them land.133 It had been 18 years since independence, the slow pace at which the process was carried out angered and frustrated the landless people of Zimbabwe.134 They became weary of politicians’ promises135 and decided to camp on the commercial farms until the government would give them land.136 This triggered a wave of land invasions of commercial farms, marking the genesis of a complex crisis in Zimbabwe.137 It became clear that the unfulfilled promises by 129

Sachikonye LM (2003) 228. Mawere M Moral Degeneration in Contemporary Zimbabwean Business Practices (2011) 72. 131 Sithole B, Campbell B, Dore D & Kozanayi W ‘Narratives on Land: State Peasant Relations Over Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ African Studies Quarterly 7. 132 Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights ‘Amendments to the Constitution of Zimbabwe: a constant assault on democracy and constitutionalism’ available at http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/constitution%20statementsunday%20mir ror pdf (accessed on 25 March 2013). 133 Masunda D ‘Is Chenjerai Hunzvi Dead and Buried’ Financial Gazette (Harare) 31 August 2000 3. 134 Mawere M (2011) 72. 135 Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights ‘Amendments to the Constitution of Zimbabwe: a constant assault on democracy and constitutionalism’ available at: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/constitution%20statementsunday%20mir ror pdf (accessed on 2 May 2013). 136 Thomas NH (2003) 700. 137 Ish Mafundikwa ‘Zimbabwe's Controversial Land Reform Program Started 10 Years Ago’ Voice of America, available at http://www.voanews.com/content/tenth-anniversary-of-zimbabwes-controversialland-reform-program-84497672/153286.html (accessed on 3 May 2013). 130

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Zimbabwe’s political leadership were backfiring.138 Chiwewe139 equated the failure by the government to take action with sitting on a time bomb which could explode any time.140 At first, the government was against the invasions as it considered them to be illegal and unplanned. It urged everyone who was involved in the invasions to be patient as everyone was to be treated equally. According to the government, allowing that kind of behaviour would set a wrong precedent which could spread like veld fire.141 The invaders were informed that the government was not going to protect them and that the law was going to take its course should they refuse to move back to their villages, as policy could not be compromised.142 President Mugabe also admitted that the implementation of the resettlement programme was slow but assured them that they were all going to be resettled. 143 However, as the ruling party was facing declining popularity, the question of senior government officials acquiring land, and a lack of financial resources to implement the land reform programme, it decided to withdraw all the statements previously made against farm invasions.144 The ruling party, ZANU-PF, started describing itself as the only political party that was genuinely committed to serving the landless people’s demand for land. The political elite described the landless people’s grievances as longstanding against inequitable distribution of land between the communal farmers and white farmers. After this pronouncement, more communities followed suit and went ahead invading commercial farms, as the invasions had been declared legal.145 At that time, the spontaneous 138

Masunda D ‘Is Chenjerai Hunzvi Dead and Buried’ Financial Gazette (Harare) 31 August 2000 3. 139 This was said by the Secretary for Local Government, Rural and Urban Development, Mr Willard Chiwewe. See also Staff Reporter ‘Land Issue a Time Bomb: Chiwewe’ The Herald 29 July 1996 1. 140 Staff Reporter ‘Land Issue a Time Bomb: Chiwewe’ The Herald 29 July 1996 1. 141 Minister John Nkomo cited by Nyandima in The Herald 23 June 1998 2. 142 Minister John Nkomo cited by Nyandima in The Herald 23 June 1998 2. 143 Agricultural Reporter, The Herald, 20 September 1998 3. 144 Moyo S. The economic and social implications of recent designations. Seminar on ‘The land reform challenge: An economic and social perspective’ (1995) 56. 145 Crime Reporter, The Herald, 01-07-1998. Sixty Nyazura villagers disgruntled by what they perceive as the slow pace of land acquisition excise have followed in

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invasions were peaceful. During the same year, 11 million hectares of the richest land were still in the hands of about 4 500 commercial farmers. It was also noted that some of the farms which were purchased for redistribution were not given to the landless people.146 Some of the acquired land was grabbed by government ministers and other senior officials in the government. In February 2000, ZANU-PF experienced high levels of unrest and political uncertainty after losing the constitutional referendum and in June 2000 they lost the general election.147 This sent a message to the ruling party that the party’s support base was swiftly declining.148 The draft Constitution had a controversial clause that obliged Britain, as the former colonial power, to pay compensation for compulsory land acquisition.149 The white commercial farmers were branded as supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and were alleged to have campaigned for a no vote against the draft constitution. Hence, the land reform programme and politics became deeply intertwined. In response to this development, ZANU-PF used the land issue to manipulate the landless indigenous people as a way of regaining its majority people’s support.150 Pursuant to this, war veterans started the first forceful land occupations on 16 February 2000. This was an absolute departure from the planned and systematic land reform programme of the early 1980s.151 The peaceful farm invasions were transformed into violent and systematic “drive in and set up camp” invasions.152 According to Masiiwa, “law and order, which the footsteps of the Svoswe clan and resettled themselves at Beestkraal farm in Odzi. This is the fourth mass exodus by land hungry villagers who have taken the land resettlement programme into their own lands. They accused the government of letting them down twice. 146 Moyo S (1990) 215. 147 Goebel A (2005) 147. 148 Sithole B, Campbell B, Dore D & Kozanayi W ‘Narratives on Land: State Peasant Relations over Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ African Studies Quarterly 7 available at http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Bev-Sithole.pdf (accessed 7 January 2013). 149 Chaumba J, Scoones I & Wolmer W (2003) 539. 150 Mutanda D "The politicisation, dynamics and violence during Zimbabwe's land reform programme" (2013) 5 (1) Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research 42. 151 Masiiwa (2005) 220. 152 Sibanda A. The millennium land policy and the economics of farm occupations by war veterans in Zimbabwe. Working paper 32. (2000) 67.

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had been strictly upheld in the previous two decades, were significantly compromised in favour of land demonstrations and the politics of land invasions.”153 The war veterans were in charge of reallocating the land on fast-tracked lands. Truly, the land reform programme was reintroduced, in a revolutionary manner, locally known as the ‘Third Chimurenga’ or ‘Jambanja’.154

The Fast Track Land Reform Programme The Government of Zimbabwe (ostensibly the ZANU PF party) embarked on the FTLRP in July 2000, a programme designed to be undertaken in an accelerated manner relying on domestic resources. Land reform had been a source of political conflict in Zimbabwe since colonization, when the country was known as Rhodesia. Under British colonial rule and under the white minority government that in 1965 unilaterally declared its independence (UDI) from Britain, white Rhodesians seized control of the vast majority of good agricultural land, leaving black peasants to scrape a living from marginal tribal reserves. An end to white minority rule came after a protracted war of liberation in which land was a major issue, but was ultimately negotiated through talks brokered by the British government that led to a settlement known as the Lancaster House Agreement (Frankenberger and Coyle, 1996). The aim of the FTLRP was to accelerate the pace of compulsory acquisition and the redistribution of prime land.155 Hence, the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Land Acquisition Act were amended to accommodate the rapidly changing policies of land acquisition and to legitimize the FTLRP.156 This FTLRP became the climax of the land reform process: it was politically charged and characterised by gross human rights violations.157 Violence was mostly directed towards white commercial farmers and their workers, 153

Masiiwa M (2005) 220. Masiiwa (2005) 219. 155 Obi A ‘Impact of Zimbabwe’s fast track land reform programme on the production and marketing of maize in smallholder sector’ in van Trijp H & Ingenbleek P (eds) Markets, Marketing and Developing Countries: Where We Stand and Where We Are Heading (2010) 78. 156 Chitigaa M & Mabugub R ‘Evaluating the Impact of Land Redistribution: A CGE Microsimulation Application to Zimbabwe’ (2008) Journal of African Economies 539. 157 Waeterloos E & Rutherford B ‘Land Reform in Zimbabwe: Challenges and Opportunities for Poverty Reduction Among Commercial Farm Workers’ (2004) 32 (3) World Development 551. 154

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both of whom were accused of supporting opposition politics.158 Additionally, the process disregarded commercial farmers’ property rights and disrupted farming activities.159 As a result, the chaotic FTLRP led to a decline in food and export production, remarkable inflation, loss of jobs and shelter within the agricultural sector and collapsing health and education systems.160 The violent and chaotic nature of the FTLRP thus violated rights to equal protection of the law, non-discrimination, and due process (Human Rights Watch, 2002). The violence accompanying land occupations has created fear and insecurity on white-owned commercial farms, in black communal areas, and in fast track resettled areas, and threatens to destabilize the food security of the entire Zimbabwean countryside (Dabale, et al (2014). The FTLRP carried out in Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2002 sought to address, to some extent, the country’s worrisome legacy of historic injustice and social and racial inequities and to broaden the base of economic participation (Moyo, 2004). The programme jeopardised the production of staple food crops such as maize and wheat, which the commercial farmers had produced in abundance, with some having erected silos on their farms. While maize had found a ready market and consumption among the whole population of the country (with some being exported), wheat was mainly consumed by urban dwellers. However Musenwa, (2011) is of the view that, regarding maize, in nondrought years more than half the crop has traditionally been grown by small scale farmers both before and after the onset of the FTLRP. According to Musenwa, et al (2011), it is also of note that Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) has shrunk to less than half the size it was in 1998, with the FTLRP having played a very substantial part in inducing the contraction because of reductions in commercial farm output. While a lot has been written about the FTLRP in Zimbabwe and its impact on the socio-economic rights of farm workers, there is no research that 158

GAPWUZ If something is wrong…The invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to “Land Reform” - Report produced for the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe [GAPWUZ] by the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU] and the Justice for Agriculture [JAG] Trust. 159 Manby B Zimbabwe - Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe (2002) 18. 160 Hellum A & Derman B ‘Land Reform and Human Rights in Contemporary Zimbabwe: Balancing Individual and Social Justice Through an Integrated Human Rights Framework’ (2004) 32 (10) World Development 1786.

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directly focuses on the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education. Much focus has been on the impact of the land reform programme on human rights in general, focusing on women and children’s property and inheritance rights. For example, the study by Hellum and Derman161 specifically discusses the extent to which human rights were violated during the FTLRP in Zimbabwe. However, it focuses on the vulnerability of farm workers and women. The study recommended that there must be appropriate balances between social, economic and individual rights, hence, a need for participatory frameworks involving all appropriate actors at international, regional and national levels. 162 In addition, Bhatasara’s163 study established that different categories of women were affected by the FTLRP in Zimbabwe. Most women who had worked as farm workers were deprived of prospects of secure jobs, income, food and homes as well as fending for their children. Bhatasara’s study concluded that the FTLRP diminished opportunities for women to be empowered. Consequently, it reduced the democratic spaces for genuine participation of women in development processes by denying them the right to land, thereby widening gender inequalities and ultimately exacerbating their poverty.164 Furthermore, the GAPUWZ’s165 assessment of the FTLRP found that up to two-thirds of the former farm workers were rendered jobless, and so lost their entitlement to housing on the farms, to basic social services and to subsidised food. Where a farm owner was evicted, the running and maintenance of the schools and clinics and payment of the staff often ceased, leading to eventual closure of the affected schools. The GAPWUZ Report focused on the general impact of the FTLRP on former commercial farm workers.166 It is against this background that this book seeks to 161

Hellum A & Derman B (2004). Hellum A & Derman B (2004). 163 Bhatasara S ‘Women, Land and Poverty in Zimbabwe: Deconstructing the Impacts of the Fast Track Land Reform Program’ (2011) 13(1) Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa. 164 Bhatasara S (2011). 165 GAPWUZ If something is wrong…The invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to “Land Reform” - Report produced for the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe [GAPWUZ] by the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU] and the Justice for Agriculture [JAG] Trust. 166 GAPWUZ If something is wrong…The invisible suffering of commercial farm workers and their families due to “Land Reform” - Report produced for the 162

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critically analyse the impact of the FTLRP on children’s socio-economic right to education.

The Characteristic Features of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe There had been numerous land reform programmes prior to the FTLRP. The first one was the Land Resettlement Programme of the early 1980s in which the Government acquired land and developed infrastructure such as schools, clinics and a road network before settling people. This type of resettlement was uniquely orderly and was non-partisan in nature. With increasing demand for land for resettlement purposes and the backdrop of diminishing financial resources to buy more land, there was jostling from among the increasingly restive populace to be allocated such space for resettlement. The demand for land for resettlement reached fever pitch in the mid-to-late 1990s when political turf wars between different political parties as well as the growing strength and popularity of civil society organisations were brought to bear on the increasing unpopularity of ZANU PF. With the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), backed by a constellation of vibrant civil society organisations, notably the student movement, the labour movement (ZCTU) and a retinue of other smaller civic groups, the new political party poised a serious political threat to ZANU PF, whose liberation war credentials had set it apart as the de facto and invincible ruling party. Faced with inevitable political defeat at the hands of the MDC, with a backdrop of increasingly waning popularity, ZANU PF utilized the only trick left up its sleeve - the land question, an issue which resonated with the liberation struggle. The failure by Britain to honour its promise to fund the Land Reform Programme became the only excuse for ZANU PF to compulsorily acquire (invade?) white commercial farms, places which had offered many blacks some form of employment. The GAPWUZ Report of 2000 put the approximate number of blacks employed on white commercial farms at over 150 000, inclusive of their families. It has always been acknowledged that the commercial farming sector provided the backbone of the Zimbabwean economy with its propensity to attract much-needed foreign currency earnings. The way that this latest land acquisition was executed differed from any other form of land acquisition ever experienced in the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe [GAPWUZ] by the Research and Advocacy Unit [RAU] and the Justice for Agriculture [JAG] Trust.

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history of the country. Firstly, the ‘acquisition’ was a free-for-all, as anyone was free to take any commercial farm of his/her choice, with senior politicians enjoying the privilege of choosing the best land with infrastructure, including the farmhouse. Besides the aspect of free-for-all, the FTLRP was chaotic with nobody to maintain order. Police details sent to maintain any semblance of order were ordered away by the marauding youths. Cases of violent evictions of white commercial farmers, with some sustaining injuries, were reported. In addition to violence, there was also destruction of property belonging to the evicted white commercial farmers. The violent nature of the FTLRP explains why the authors of this book included a review of international instruments that relate to conflict and/or violent situations, such as civil wars. Basically, the events and character of the FTLRP resembled a war situation, with reports of destruction of property, injury and death. This is the situation in which children of black commercial farm workers found themselves. Some property such as schools was destroyed in the process. The unsettled environment was not conducive for education of the schoolage children of black farm workers. In the interim period children were deprived of the right to education, as most of their fathers were accused of being supporters of opposition politics and subsequently evicted from their homesteads on the farms, thereby rendering them homeless. Infrastructure for the procurement of water and health facilities as well as food sources were all disturbed, thereby depriving these children and their parents of the enjoyment of the attendant socio-economic rights. The violence and destruction of properties as well as the eviction of their parents came to haunt the children of former commercial farm workers, with many having lost out on educational opportunities due to loss of employment of their parents.

CHAPTER TWO THE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR PROTECTING CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO EDUCATION

Introduction This chapter provides a normative conceptual and legal framework on human and children’s right to education. The aim is to establish the scope of the children’s right to education, including in times of internal conflict such as during the FTLRP. Consequently, various debates and arguments as well as international, regional, and national laws on the right to education are explored.

Conceptual Framework for Human Rights This conceptual framework explores the concept of human rights and the attendant classification of human rights.

Human and People’s Rights: A General Overview The concept of human rights is derived from the theory of natural law and originates in Graeco-Roman doctrines. The concept of certain individual and collective rights—in particular, civil and political rights—as “natural” or “inalienable” can be traced back to colonial times and reflects the influence of John Locke and other political theorists. It appears in some early Christian literary works and is reflected in the Magna Carta (The Great Charter of 1215). The concept winds as a philosophical thread through 17th- and 18th-century European and American thought, including the American Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789)1. According 1

http://www.hrweb.org/

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to the UN (2006:1), the United Nation's Commission on Human Rights created the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), which reasserted the concept of human rights after the horrors of World War II. Human rights have since become a universally espoused yet widely disregarded concept. The Human Rights Resource Centre defines human rights as those basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity. Human rights are universal rights held to belong to individuals by virtue of their being human beings, and encompass civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and freedoms. They are based on the notion of personal human dignity and worth. Looked at from a religious point of view, defence of human rights is the will of God (Cornish, 2005:121). Human rights philosophers from the liberal persuasion have traditionally emphasized individual rights that the state can either usurp or undermine. John Locke (1632-1704), among others, asserted that individuals are equal and autonomous beings whose natural rights pre-date both national and international law, and that public authority is designed to secure these rights on behalf of its citizenry. Theorists influenced by Karl Marx as well as other socialist thinkers concentrated on those rights that the state is responsible for providing. Emerging from Karl Marx’ concern for the welfare of industrialized labour, the duty of states is to advance the well-being of its citizens; the right of the citizens is to benefit from these socio-economic advances. This view emphasized the minimum material rights that the state must provide to individuals. This provided individuals with the right to education, healthcare and social security, although the amount guaranteed was not specified. Social theorists believe that without these guarantees, the political and civil rights are meaningless as they are prone to manipulation by the ruling elite. Religious traditions have had a lot of influence on human rights. Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Confucianism all concur that there should be dignity of individuals and that people are responsible to their fellow humans. Hindus prohibit infliction of physical or mental pain on others. Jews support the sacredness of individuals as well as the responsibility of the individual to help those in need. Buddhism’s Eight-Fold Path includes right thought and action toward all beings. Islam teaches equality of races and racial tolerance, as well as respect for all human beings. While the relative importance of these values may vary, Paul Gordon Lauren (1998:11) notes that “…early ideas about general human rights thus did not originate exclusively in one location,

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like the West, or even with any particular form of government like liberal democracy, but were shared throughout the ages by visionaries from many cultures in many lands, who expressed themselves in different ways”. Civil society has also been at the forefront of campaigning for human rights. NGOs have long been active in human rights activities with a plethora of human rights NGOs being established in the 1970s, especially after the signing of the Helsinki Accords of 1975, which gave governments and NGOs the mandate to monitor human rights in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Anti-slavery groups were among the first and most active of early human rights movements. Of minority rights, Lauren (1998:17) asserts that there is a need for “…significant precedents for increased international protection of the rights of minority populations within states”. Henkin (1998:512) admits that the purpose of international concern with human rights is to make national rights effective under national laws and through national institutions. Henkin (1998) further explores the legal implications of violating human and peoples’ rights, especially against the backdrop of the International Court of Justice, whose principal mandate is to try international criminals, primarily those who have violated people’s rights by crimes such as genocide, enslavement and human trafficking (ibid).

Classification of Human Rights Human rights are said to be inherent in the sense that the human being is entitled to these rights by virtue of being human. They are the natural endowment of mankind and a right and not a privilege, hence the term human rights. In human rights circles, there is a system of arranging human rights, not in accordance with their importance to the human being, but by the times (or generations) in which they emerged and gained in prominence. These generations cover civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights; and people or solidarity rights (Peter, 1998:4). First-generation rights cover civil and political rights, traceable to the period after World War 2, a period that brought about unprecedented human suffering. The first-generation rights incorporate the right to selfdetermination; equality before the law without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, or political considerations; the right to life; protection against torture or cruelty. Other civil and political rights include the right to privacy and protection from arbitrary or unlawful interference in one’s life; the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, assembly association and the right to take part in

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the conduct of public affairs, among others. However there have been unprecedented breaches of these rights and freedoms, initially under colonialism and later in post-independence Africa, under various African dictators. The second generation of rights is economic related and emerged in the 1970s with the attainment of political independence by many African states, where the struggle was now shifted from political to economic emancipation. Regional and international economic blocs were advocating for better terms of trade and a new economic order. These include the right to work and all that goes along with working conditions, including the rights of workers to join or organize trade unions. The Third Generation Rights [also referred to as ‘new human rights’], which became prominent in the 1980s, are those rights which individuals as members of particular groups or ethnicity need to enjoy. They include the right to selfdetermination, the right to development and enjoyment of common heritage, and the right to national and international peace among others. Economic, social and cultural rights fall under the first and second generation of rights. In addition to the provision of these rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic and Cultural Rights went about providing the monitoring mechanisms of these rights within and among nations. However the Covenants did not seem to be coercive enough, to the extent that nations began to manipulate this deficiency to violate these rights among their nationals. This resulted in states escaping liability in case of non-performance in the area of economic, social and cultural rights (Trubek, in Peter, 1998:15), though the international community did not allow such states to go Scot free2. However, the Covenants lack clarity as to how states should articulate these rights and freedoms among their nationals. While Civil and Political Rights require progressive realization, SocioEconomic Rights require immediate realization. Among the most notable of these rights are the right to food, water, health and education, among many. The central focus of this book is on the right to Education as encapsulated in different international instruments as well as national legislative and constitutional provisions. It is the thrust and mandate of 2

The Covenant requires that states submit reports on measures which they have adopted to realize these rights and the progress made in the achievement of these rights among its citizenry.

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this book to examine children’s rights against the backdrop of the famed ‘Fast-Track’ Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe, a development which saw the expropriation of white commercial farms by the State and giving them to landless indigenous black ‘farmers’. In the book, the authors explore the impact of the land reform exercise on education provision on farm schools and on the children of commercial farm workers. While a lot has been written about the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe, this book seeks to re-visit the topic, a decade after the famed land reform exercise, especially from the lens of both the children who lost out on education opportunities as well as from the new beneficiaries of the land reform exercise.

Instruments Providing a Normative Framework on Human Rights and the Rights of Children The international instruments that are discussed include: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948);3 the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (CADE) (1960); 4 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1966);5 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), (1966)6 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), (1989).7 Additionally, since some families were displaced during the FTLRP process, international and regional instruments that protect internally displaced persons, such as the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (nonbinding) (1998); 8 Convention for the Protection and Assistance of 3

The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. It should be noted that its adoption fortified the international human rights movement. 4 Zimbabwe deposited the instrument on 30 May 2006. 5 Zimbabwe acceded to the ICSECR on 13 May 1991. 6 Zimbabwe also ratified the ICCPR on 13 May 1991. 7 Zimbabwe ratified the CRC on 11 Sep 1990. 8 The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement is not a binding instrument, hence states cannot ratify it. Consequently, the principles are consistent with international human rights law and international humanitarian law such that States ratify human rights and humanitarian law instruments which are based on the Guiding Principles. Conversely States can make the Guiding Principles binding by incorporating them into their domestic law. Although they are not legally binding, the Guiding Principles have been disseminated widely among States and international agencies and are increasingly being used to guide protection and assistance strategies.

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Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (2009)9 and the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 1977,10 are also to be discussed. A plethora of regional instruments are discussed and these include: the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), 1981; 11 the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), 1990;12 the Protocol to the African on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2005);13 the African Youth Charter;14 and A Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century.15 At national level the study will discuss the old Constitution of Zimbabwe,16 the new COPAC Constitution17 and the Children’s Education Act.18 Furthermore, declarations such as the Jomtien Declaration (1990),19 the World Education Forum Framework for Action (2000) promoting Education for All (EFA)20 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000) are also included in the exploration of relevant legislation.

9

Zimbabwe signed the Convention on 22 October 2009, but has not yet ratified it, and as a result it is not bound by the Convention. 10 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977, 1125 UNTS 609, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b37f40.html (accessed 18 May 2013). According to the definition provided by Department of Peace and Conflict Research the FTLRP can qualify as an armed conflict under the Protocol II. 11 Zimbabwe ratified the ACHPR on 30 May 1986. 12 Zimbabwe acceded to the ACRWC on 19 Jan 1995. 13 Zimbabwe signed and ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa on 15 April 2008. 14 Zimbabwe ratified the African Youth Charter on 16 March 2009. 15 Zimbabwe adopted A Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century in December 1999. 16 The Constitution of Zimbabwe was published as a Schedule to the Zimbabwe Constitution Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1600 of the United Kingdom). 17 This was a draft Constitution which was voted in favour of in March 2013. 18 Children’s Education Act Chapter 25:04. 19 World Declaration on Education for All, adopted by the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990. 20 Dakar Framework of Action on Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments, adopted by the World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 26-28 April 2000.

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Most of these instruments provide that education should be accessible, adaptable, acceptable and available to those entitled to it, known as the 4A scheme. 21 General Comment 13 emphasises that education in all its forms and levels must exhibit these four inter-related and essential features. 22 Furthermore, the former Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Ms Tomasevski, suggested that these four essential features could be used to monitor and assess the realisation of the right to education. 23 Consequently, the discussion of these instruments in this study is provided under the 4-A scheme as a standard for measuring Zimbabwe’s compliance with the legal framework for the achievement of the right to education during the FTLRP.24 The following international, regional and national instruments are explored and provide a normative framework for use to determine the extent to which the FTLRP complied or failed to comply with the provisions of these instruments. Economic, social and cultural rights are socio-economic human rights, such as the right to education, right to housing, right to adequate standard of living, and the right to health. Socio-economic rights are recognised and protected in international and regional human rights instruments. At national level, Member states have a legal obligation to respect, protect and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights and are expected to take "progressive action" towards their fulfilment. The new Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for a wide, comprehensive declaration of rights that includes civil and political rights as well as socioeconomic and cultural rights. Such rights can only be limited by a law of general application and to the extent that such limitation is considered reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on the fundamental values of human freedom, dignity and equality. This is a huge 21

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment No. 13: The Right to Education (Art. 13 of the Covenant), 8 December 1999, E/C.12/1999/10, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/4538838c22.html (accessed 6 May 2013) para 6. 22 General Comment 13 para 6. 23 Beiter KD The Protection of the Right to Education by International Law: Including a Systematic Analysis of Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2006) 335. 24 Coomans F ‘Content and Scope of the Right to Education as a Human Right and Obstacles to Its Realisation’ in Donders Y & Volodin V (eds) Human Rights in Education, Science, and Culture: Legal Developments and Challenge (2007) 197.

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improvement from the previous national law which did not provide for social, economic and cultural rights and which allowed the limitation of human rights to be justified on the basis of a vague (and often abused) concept of ‘maintaining public security’.

Education as a Human Right Education has been regarded in all societies and throughout human history both as an end in itself and as a means for the individual and society to grow. Its recognition as a human right is derived from the indispensability of education to the preservation and enhancement of the inherent dignity of the human person.

International standards The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "Everyone has the right to education.” In addition, it says that it shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit, and technical and professional education shall be made generally available. The UDHR also stipulates that education should be directed towards the full development of the human personality and strengthen respect for human rights. Finally, it acknowledges that parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Articles 13 and 14 of the ICESCR set out detailed formulations of the right to education. Article 13 contains a general statement that everyone has the right to education and that education should contribute to the full development of the human personality. It also specifically stipulates: • •

Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all. Secondary education, including technical and vocational education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.

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•

• •

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Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, in particular by the progressive introduction of free education. Fundamental education shall be intensified for those persons who have not received or completed the whole period of their primary education. Systems of schools shall be established and the material condition of teaching staff shall be continuously improved. The liberty of parents or guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to minimum educational standards shall be respected. In addition, article 13 recognizes the liberty of parents or guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

Article 14 requires each state party that has not been able to secure compulsory primary education free of charge to undertake, "within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan of action for the progressive implementation . . . of compulsory primary education free of charge for all.”

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Articles 28 and 29 of the CRC deal with the right of the child to education. Article 28 is similar to the provisions contained in ICESCR. In addition, it states that school discipline should be administered in a manner consistent with a child’s human dignity. Article 29 stipulates that the education of the child shall be directed towards the development of the child’s personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education The UNESCO Convention stipulates that State parties must undertake to formulate, develop and apply a national policy which will tend to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, and, in particular, to make primary education free and compulsory. In addition, it recognizes parents’ right to freely choose their children’s educational institutions and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

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The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Article 10 of CEDAW also contains provisions dealing with the right to education. It provides, for example, for equal access to career and vocational guidance and to studies at all educational levels; access to the same curricula and examinations; elimination of stereotyping in the roles of women and men; and the same opportunities to benefit from academic scholarships.

Regional instruments The right to education is recognized and guaranteed under several regional human rights instruments. These include the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (article 17) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Content of the Right to Education and State Obligations Legal standards on the right to education encompass two broad components: enhancement of access by all to education on the basis of equality and non-discrimination, and freedom to choose the kind (public/private institutions) and content (religious and moral) of education. Both aspects represent the spirit and cardinal essence of the right to education. The demanding nature of the obligations involved in ensuring the right to education is reflected in the number and variety of reservations, declarations and objections relating to the relevant article in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, at least four components of the right to education can be gleaned from various legal provisions on the right to education: • • • •

Equal enjoyment of, and equal access to, educational opportunities and facilities Compulsory and free primary education Generally available and accessible secondary education, and equally accessible higher education Freedom of choice in education, and freedom to establish private institutions

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The CESCR R, in its Geneeral Commentt 13, identifiees four elemen nts of the state’s obliggations with respect r to thee right to eduucation. Thesse are (1) availability, (2) accessibillity, (3) acceptability and (44) adaptability y.

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While the precise and appropriate application of the terms will depend upon the conditions prevailing in a particular State party, education in all its forms and at all levels shall exhibit the following interrelated and essential features: (a) Availability - functioning educational institutions and programmes have to be available in sufficient quantity within the jurisdiction of the State party. What they require to function depends upon numerous factors, including the developmental context within which they operate; for example, all institutions and programmes are likely to require buildings or other protection from the elements, sanitation facilities for both sexes, safe drinking water, trained teachers receiving domestically competitive salaries, teaching materials, and so on; while some will also require facilities such as a library, computer facilities and information technology; (b) Accessibility - educational institutions and programmes have to be accessible to everyone, without discrimination, within the jurisdiction of the State party. Accessibility has three overlapping dimensions: Non-discrimination - education must be accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable groups, in law and fact, without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds. Physical accessibility - education has to be within safe physical reach, either by attendance at some reasonably convenient geographic location (e.g. a neighbourhood school) or via modern technology (e.g. access to a “distance learning” programme); Economic accessibility - education has to be affordable to all. This dimension of accessibility is subject to the differential wording of article 13 (2) in relation to primary, secondary and higher education: whereas primary education shall be available “free to all”, States parties are required to progressively introduce free secondary and higher education; (c) Acceptability - the form and substance of education, including curricula and teaching methods, have to be acceptable (e.g. relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality) to students and, in appropriate cases, parents; this is subject to the educational objectives required by article 13 (1) and such minimum educational standards as may be approved by the State (see art. 13 (3) and (4));

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(d) Adaptability - education has to be flexible so it can adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within their diverse social and cultural settings.

Availability The duty to provide compulsory and free primary education is undoubtedly a prerequisite for the realization of the right to education. The CESCR in its General Comment 11 on article 14 of the ICESCR considers that State parties have a clear and unequivocal obligation to draw up a plan of action for ensuring compulsory and free primary education. The committee has stated that lack of educational opportunities for children often reinforces their subjection to various other human rights violations. According to the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, “The state’s obligation to make primary education free of charge is frequently, albeit erroneously, associated with the State’s provision of primary education. The State’s obligation to make primary education free is in quite a few countries implemented through subsidies to a diverse range of primary schools.” She has also stated: “The first State obligation relates to ensuring that primary schools are available for all children, which necessitates a considerable investment. While the State is not the only investor, international human rights law obliges it to be the investor of last resort so as to ensure that primary schools are available for all school-age children. If the intake capacity of primary schools is below the number of primary-school aged children, legal provisions on compulsory education will not be translated into practice and access to education will remain a need rather than being a right.”

The provision of secondary and higher education is also considered an important element of the right to education. The requirement of “progressive introduction of free education” does not mean that a state can absolve itself from its obligations. Finally, the CESCR has stated that a state party cannot escape the unequivocal obligation to adopt a plan of action on the grounds that the necessary resources are not available.

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Accessibility The second state obligation relates to accessibility. At a minimum, governments are obligated to ensure the enjoyment of the right to education through guaranteeing access to existing educational institutions by all on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. The state’s affirmative obligation to ensure equal access to educational institutions encompasses both physical and constructive access. In the case of elderly persons, for example, the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing calls for easier physical access to institutions and constructive access to education through overcoming stereotyped images of older persons suffering from disabilities and/or being incapable of functioning independently. Similarly, as provided for in article 10 of the CEDAW, governments are obligated to take all appropriate steps towards the “elimination of any stereotyped concepts of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education” through such means as encouraging “the revision of textbooks and school programs and the adaptation of teaching methods”.” Under that provision, women and girls also have a right to equal access to specific educational information (including family planning advice) and to sports programs. Migrant workers and members of their families who are officially admitted into host nations are also guaranteed the right to constructive access to education as provided for in article 14 and 15 of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers, in so far as the host nation must take action, where practicable, to teach in the migrant workers’ mother tongues. The right to education has been affirmed for disabled persons. Rule 6 of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities provides that “States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary, and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults with disabilities, in integrated settings”. To this end, the CESCR directs State parties to “ensure that teachers are trained to educate children with disabilities within regular schools and that the necessary equipment and support are available to bring persons with disabilities up to the same level of education as their non-disabled peers”. Similarly, children with physical and mental disabilities are guaranteed the right to training towards “achieving the fullest possible social integration, individual development and . . . cultural and moral development” under article 13 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

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Acceptability The Special Rapporteur has said that “the State is obliged to ensure that all schools conform to the minimum criteria which it has developed as well as ascertaining that education is acceptable both to parents and to children”. This element involves the right to choose the type of education received, and the right to establish, maintain, manage and control private educational establishments. It does not, however, require the state to provide the same ancillary benefits to private school pupils that public school pupils may enjoy, such as free transport by bus, free textbooks, or school meals. Pupils and parents have a right to be free from indoctrination, and therefore mandatory study of materials that are incongruent with a pupil’s religious or other beliefs may violate the right to education. The right to found private educational institutions has been linked to freedom of expression. In the landmark case of Archbishop Anthony O. Okogie et al. v. The Attorney General of Lagos, for example, the Nigerian Court of Appeals held that the government, in precluding private institutions, was abridging freedom of expression and the right of parents and guardians to “bring up their children and wards and to educate them in the best institutions they can think of and in the best traditions and manners they think such children should be educated”. Although the freedom of choice and the freedom to establish private institutions are available to all persons, their benefits for cultural, racial, religious and linguistic minorities are particularly significant. To this end, article 5(1)(c) of the 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education recognizes “the right of members of national minorities to carry on their own educational activities, including the maintenance of schools and, depending on the educational policy of each State, the use or the teaching of their own language”. For its part, article 13 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities provides that “persons belonging to a national minority have the right to set up and to manage their own private educational and training establishments”. Article 14 of the same text guarantees minorities the right to learn their own language. The issue of language of instruction is an area that has spawned controversies. The European Court of Human Rights has affirmed the right of the state to determine official languages of a country, which are

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thus the languages of instruction in public schools, but has denied that there was a right to education in a language of one’s choice. Another important element of acceptability relates to the child-friendly nature of the schools. Based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, “it is imperative that education respect the right of the child to be curious, to ask questions and receive answers, to argue and disagree, to test and make mistakes, to know and not know, to create and be spontaneous”.

Adaptability Normally, what a child learns in school should be determined by his or her future needs as an adult. However, the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that the best interests of the child be given prominence. Thus, the education system should remain adaptable, taking into account the best interests of the child.

The Scope of the Right to Education using the 4-A Scheme The 4-A scheme of education denotes access to education on a nondiscriminatory basis, enjoyment of free and compulsory primary education, quality education and the right to free choice of education. It therefore imposes an obligation on the state to ensure that education is available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to every child of schoolgoing age as summarised in the above diagram (page 36).25

Unpacking the 4-A Scheme during the FTLRP As presented above, the 4-A Scheme comprises the availability, accessibility, adaptability and acceptability of education to all those of school-going age. Below is a step-by-step discussion of the 4-A Scheme.

Availability of education Human rights instruments provide that everyone has a right to education.26 These instruments do not give a detailed explanation of what availability 25 Diagram taken from Right to Education Project Education and the 4As available at http://www.right-to-education.org/node/231 (accessed 6 November 2012). 26 Article 26 (1) of the UDHR; Article 13 (1) of the ICESCR; Article 28 of the CRC; Article 17 (1) of the ACHPR; Article 11 (1) of the ACRWC ; Guiding Principle 23 (1) of the Guiding Principles on internally displaced persons and the

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entails.27 However, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has expanded the meaning of availability of education in General Comment 13 by providing that education is available if there are functioning educational institutions and programmes in sufficient quantities. 28 According to the General Comment, the meaning of functional schools and programmes depends on various factors such as the developmental context within which they operate. 29 Generally, the Committee has noted that all educational institutions and programmes require adequate and safe infrastructure for school programmes to function properly. 30 In addition, it entails that schools should be well-equipped, with furniture and fittings such as desks, chairs and chalkboards. Furthermore, the General Comment provides that schools should have at least the basic sanitation facilities for both sexes.31 Moreover, General Comment 13 provides that schools must have access to safe drinking water for their programmes to function effectively.32 This is also in line with human rights instruments which proclaim that everyone, including children have a right to water.33 It is also important to note that the right to water is critical for the achievement of adequate sanitation and health, since human rights are interlinked and interdependent. In terms of the legal instruments, the welfare of the teaching personnel is also vital in ensuring that education is available to children. For example,

Zimbabwe Education Policy Number 3 of 2006. It should be noted that the CRC and the ACRWC specifically endow children with the right to education. A Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century reaffirmed that “education is a basic right and a basic need for all”. However, the previous Constitution of Zimbabwe did not protect the right to education. 27 ICESCR, General Comment 13, Art. 1 (21st Session, 1999), UN Doc E/C.12/1999/10 (1999), at para. 43-45. 28 General Comment 13 para 6 (a). 29 General Comment 13 para 6 (a). 30 General Comment 13 of the Right to education Para 6 (a). 31 General Comment 13 of the Right to education Para 6 (a). To that end, it should be noted that the Children’s Institute of South Africa (CISA) has described basic sanitation facilities as “including flush toilets, ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs) and Enviro loos”. The institute has established that ordinary pit latrines, buckets or no toilets constitute inadequate sanitation facilities. 32 General Comment 13 of the Right to education Para 6 (a). 33 Article 12 of the ICESCR. CISA has also emphasises that safe drinking water should be available on site or near site for easy access by teachers and students.

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the UNESCO CADE provides that “governments should make available training for teachers without discrimination”.34 In addition, the ICESCR provides that the material conditions of trained teachers should be continuously improved inter alia. 35 Similarly, General Comment 13 stipulates that trained teachers should receive domestically competitive salaries.36 Furthermore, availability entails that schools must be equipped with sufficient teaching materials so as to function properly and have sufficient programmes. 37 Additionally, General Comment 13 notes that facilities such as libraries, computer facilities and information technology should be available so as to enhance children’s understanding, thereby enabling schools to function properly with sufficient teaching materials. 38 Furthermore, the CRC encourages states, especially those in developing countries, to facilitate access to scientific and technical knowledge as well as modern teaching methods. 39 With the developments in technology, modern teaching methods should be made available to teachers so that scientific and technical knowledge can be cascaded to children. The new technological teaching methods should be used to enhance teaching and learning as opposed to relying on traditional textbooks, board and chalk. In addition, the UNESCO CADE and the ICESCR provide that governments should formulate, develop and apply national policies to ensure that people who did not receive primary education or failed to complete their primary education can complete their education.40 These provisions protect both males and females. Nevertheless, the African Youth Charter protects females only in this regard and provides that states should give another opportunity to girls and young women who failed to complete their education because of pregnancy or early marriage.41 This provision seeks to make education available to girls and women who could not finish their education due to different reasons such as pregnancy, early 34

Article 4 (d) of the UNESCO CADE. See also Hyll-Larsen P ‘Brief on human rights and the right to education in emergencies Input to the 2010 revision of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies Minimum Standards Handbook’ (2010) 3. 35 Article 13 (2) (e) of the ICESCR. 36 General Comment No 13 para 6 (a). See also Hyll-Larsen P (2010) 3. 37 General Comment No 13 para 6 (a). 38 General Comment No 13 para 6 (a). 39 Article 28 (3) of the CRC. 40 Article 4 (c) of the UNESCO CADE. See also Article 13 (d) of the ICESCR. 41 Article 13 (4) (h) African Youth Charter.

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marriages and poverty. It is common that, in times of conflict, some girls and young women do not finish their primary education due to poverty, pregnancy or early marriages. Another opportunity should be granted to such people to enable them to complete their primary education, thereby making education available to them. In addition, the African Women’s Protocol takes another dimension by providing that girls and young women should be kept in school or be enrolled at schools if they prematurely or unintentionally fall pregnant.42 Furthermore, the ACRWC obliges governments to ensure equal access to education for all sections of the community by making education available to females as well as to gifted and disadvantaged children.43 In addition, the Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa has the target of ensuring that by 2015 all children of school-going age have access to quality primary education and that at least 80 per cent of those who enrol in primary schools should be able to complete their education and at least 90 per cent of these should proceed to secondary level.44 Availability also provides that the funding of schools and their programmes is crucial for their effective operation. It is the responsibility of the governments to ensure that schools are well funded for education to be made available to all children. According to the former Special Rapporteur on Education, governments should establish schools or set aside funding to allow private individuals to establish schools.45 Similarly, the New Constitution of Zimbabwe allows the establishment of independent educational institutions of reasonable standards. 46 Furthermore, the Act encourages all local authorities to establish and maintain primary schools in their areas of jurisdiction to ensure every child attends school.47 In terms of these provisions, if more schools are established, more children of school-going age will be able to attend school. 48 Consequently, governments should set aside a substantial percentage of money in their national budgets for education. 42

Article 12 (2) (c) African Women’s Protocol to the ICHPR. Article 13 (e) of the ACRWC. 44 Article 5.2 Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century. 45 Tomasevski K Human Rights Obligations: Making Education Available, Accessible, Acceptable and Adaptable (2001) 13. 46 Section 75 (2) of the COPAC Draft Constitution. 47 Section 8 of the Education Act. 48 Tomasevski K (2001) 17. 43

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More relevant to this mini-thesis is that people who are found in internal crisis also need the protection of the law to ensure the right to education is available to them. To that end, Guiding Principle 23 provides that education facilities should be made available to internally displaced persons, in particular teenagers, regardless of whether they live in camps or not.49 Similarly, the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons provides that states must provide internally displaced persons with adequate humanitarian assistance, including education in times of internal crisis.50 Just like the other instruments, the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 obligates states to provide children with access to education inter alia in times of crisis.51 Furthermore, the Jomtien Declaration (1990), 52 the World Education Forum Framework for Action (2000) promoting Education for All (EFA)53 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000) pay specific attention to education in crisis situations that displace people, such as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). In Zimbabwe, the Education Act guarantees that every child in the country has a right to school education 54 and that no child in Zimbabwe shall be refused admission to any school. 55 Likewise, the new COPAC Constitution of Zimbabwe also protects the right to education.56

Accessibility to education Different instruments concur that everyone, including children of schoolgoing age, has a right to education. 57 As a result, states are obliged to 49

Principle 23 (4) of the Guiding Principles on Internally Displaced Persons. Article 2 (b) of the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons. 51 Article 4 (3) (a) of the Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 obligates states to provide children with the care and aid they require and to make education available to them. 52 World Declaration on Education for All, adopted by the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990. 53 Dakar Framework of Action on Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments, adopted by the World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 26-28 April 2000. 54 Section 4 (1) of the Education Act. 55 Section 4 (2) (a) of the Education Act. 56 Section 75 (1) of the Final Draft Constitution of Zimbabwe (COPAC). 57 Article 26 (1) of the UDHR; Article 13 (1) of the ICESCR; Article 28 of the CRC; Article 17 (1) of the ACHPR; Article 11 (1) of the ACRWC; Guiding 50

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ensure that schools and educational programmes are accessible to everyone including children. 58 According to General Comment 13, accessibility has three overlapping magnitudes. 59 These are physical accessibility, economic accessibility and non-discrimination, which are discussed below.

Physical accessibility Physical accessibility suggests that schools should be within the safe physical reach of all children of school-going age.60 Similarly, the InterAgency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) promotes physical access to high quality education for all people including children affected by emergencies, crises or chronic instability. 61 Hence, in cases where schools are not within the physical reach of children, appropriate transport facilities should be arranged to transport such children from their homes to school and back so that they do not walk long distances to school.62 The Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture in Zimbabwe has recommended a radius of 3 kilometres to the nearest school as within reasonable distance. 63 As a result, if children walk more than 3 kilometres to the Principle 23 (1) of the Guiding Principles on Internally Displaced Persons. The CRC and the ACRWC specifically mentions children as right holders who should also have access to education. 58 General Comment 13 para 6 (b). 59 General Comment 13 para 6 (b). 60 General Comment 13 para 6 (b). UNESCO ‘Implementation Of The International Covenant On Economic, Social And Cultural Rights Third Periodic Report Submitted by States Parties under Articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant New Zealand’ available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/AdvanceVersions/E.C.12.NZL.3A UV.pdf (accessed 26 February 2013). 61 INEE is an open network of UN agencies, NGOs, donors, practitioners, researchers and individuals who work together to ensure that the right to education is realized during and after crisis. It is responsible for gathering and disseminating good practice, tools and research for people affected by emergencies through advocacy, and exchange of information among its members and partners to promote the right to education. It provides Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies (MSEEs), which are the global tools to ensure quality and accountability of the provision of education in emergencies. 62 Tomasevski K (2001) 10. See also Profiles in Displacement: Mexico. Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons UNdoc. E/CN.4.2003/8/Add.310January 2003 para 29. 63 Policy Brief No. 10/2012 of 2012 Local Government and Access to Education for Orphans and Vulnerable Children under Zimbabwe’s National Action Plan for

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nearest school that means that such a situation violates the provision of physical accessibility to education. In addition, physical accessibility does not only refer to the provision of school buildings alone but attendance is also indispensable. Accordingly, the CRC and the ACRWC require states to take reasonable measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and reduction of school drop-out rates. 64 Similarly, the African Youth Charter encourages states to “take steps to encourage regular school attendance and reduce dropout rates”.65 The Education Act of Zimbabwe also obligates parents to ensure that their children attend primary school. 66 According to the former Special Rapporteur for Education the elimination of any legal and administrative obstacles that hinder children’s physical access to school is also significant.67 Obstacles such as the need for a birth certificate for a child to enrol at a school can hinder a child from attending school. Hence, the abolition of such obstacles will enable education to be physically accessible to all children of school-going age.68

Economic accessibility Legal instruments explicitly provide that primary education must be free and compulsory.69 Likewise, the INEE provides that all people affected by emergencies, crises or chronic instability should have economic access to high quality education. This is to ensure that every child of school-going age receives an education. According to General Comment 11, school fees and other direct costs may constitute disincentives to the enjoyment of the right to education and may jeopardize its realization. But what does it mean for education to be free? In terms of General Comment 11, education is free if there are no other charges to the child, parents or

Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe (NAP for OVCS). Also note that in South Africa a school is considered to be far if a child travels for more than 30 minutes to school, irrespective of the mode of transport. 64 Article 28 (1) (e) CRC; Article 11 (3) (d) of the ACRWC. 65 Article 13 (4) (c) of the African Youth Charter. 66 Section 5 of the Education Act. 67 Tomasevski K (2001) 12. 68 Tomasevski K (2001) 12. 69 Article 26 (1) of the UDHR; Article 13 (2) of the ICESCR; Article 28 (a) of the CRC; Article 4 (a) of the UNESCO CADE; Article 13 (4) (a) African Youth Charter.

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guardians.70 If education is free, every parent or guardian can afford to send their children to school, hence, education can be made compulsory for all children of school-going age. In addition, according to General Comment 11, accessibility also entails the elimination of any direct costs involved in ensuring children acquire an education.71 Most parents especially in developing countries are generally poor and cannot afford to pay for their children’s school fees, let alone additional or hidden costs. Hence, the elimination of any direct costs such as expensive uniforms and textbooks can reduce the burden on parents and enable them to send their children to school. As already mentioned, education is free and affordable if there are no other costs attached to it. 72 Furthermore, in sub-Saharan Africa, efforts are being made to ensure that all children of school-going age attend school so as to eradicate illiteracy within the Sub-Saharan region.73 Article 5.2 encourages states to increase the universal access and completion of primary or basic education.74 The Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa has a target of ensuring that by 2015 all children of school-going age have access to quality primary education. 75 While international and regional instruments provide that primary education should be free and compulsory, the Education Act of Zimbabwe only provides for compulsory primary education. However, in contrast to the provisions of the international and regional instruments, the Education Act provides for the lowest possible fees consistent with the maintenance of high standards of education.76 Furthermore, Article 14 of the ICESCR goes further to encourage new state parties to achieve free and compulsory primary education within two years of becoming a member.77 As a result, if a state cannot achieve free

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General Comment 11 para 7. General Comment 11 para 7. 72 General Comment 11 para 7. 73 Preamble of the Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century. 74 Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century. 75 Article 5.2 Framework for Action in Sub-Saharan Africa: Education for African Renaissance in the Twenty-first Century. 76 Section 6 of the Education Act of Zimbabwe. 77 Article 14 of the ICESCR. 71

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and compulsory education it must adopt a plan of action to realise the right to education progressively within a reasonable number of years.78

Non-discrimination Legal instruments on access to education assert that everyone has a right to education regardless of who they are or their background. Hence, access to education must be non-discriminatory. 79 General Comment 13 provides that no one should be discriminated against because of their race, colour, ethnicity, sex, language, economic or social status, or religion. 80 Additionally, the Education Act states that no child may be discriminated against based on the stated grounds 81 in regard to admission to any school.82 In Zimbabwe, non-compliance with this provision is an offence and anyone involved will be liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both.83 The Guiding Principles affirm that aid to IDPs should be provided impartially and neutrally, that is without discrimination based on grounds including, race, ethnicity, religion and status. In cases where some children are displaced, they can be discriminated against based on the fact that they are displaced and this can be so rampant as to limit the IDP children’s access to school.84 General Comment 11 provides that children living under desperate situations are vulnerable to forced labour, child marriages and other forms of exploitation. 85 Hence, governments must enact laws and policies to ensure that education is accessible to such children. It has also been noted that most children who leave school prematurely are caught up in child 78

Article 14 of the ICESCR. Beiter K D (2006) 661. See also Hyll-Larsen P (2010) 3. 80 General Comment 13 para 6 (b). 81 There should not be discrimination based on grounds including race, tribe, place of origin, national or ethnic origin, political opinions, colour, creed or gender. 82 Section 4 (2) (b) of the Education Act. 83 Section 4 (4). 84 Mooney E and French C ‘Barriers and Bridges: Access to Education for Internally Displaced Children’ available at http://www.nrc.ch/8025708F004CFA06/%28httpKeyDocumentsByCategory%29/C D4655D8BD64EFB7C1257280005166D0/$file/IDP_Child_Education_Brookings _JAn_2005.pdf (accessed on 9 May 2013). It has been reported that some IDP children can be turned away even before entering classrooms in Colombia and Mexico and a child was told by his teacher that “no wonder you are so stupid -you are a displaced.” 85 General Comment 11 para 7. 79

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labour, early marriages, child trafficking and many other social predicaments.86 As a result, governments must enact and enforce laws that prohibit child labour, early marriages and child trafficking to ensure children of school-going age are kept in school. 87 Furthermore, the education system must cater for everyone including those who are marginalised in communities such as the disabled, the poor, the homeless, internally displaced persons, refugees, street children and illegal immigrants. Duty-bearers must eliminate any discrimination on the basis of internationally prohibited grounds including ethnicity, economic status, disability and gender. They should take positive steps to incorporate the most marginalised categories of people into the education system. The governments must ensure that there is a link between school leaving age and minimum age for employment, marriage, military service and criminal responsibility. It is also important that these laws are strictly implemented and enforced so as to protect children from such harmful practices. It has already been shown that most evicted farm workers became wandering and destitute-like.88

Acceptability of education The international standards do not only call for education to be available and accessible, but also demand that it should be acceptable. For example, General Comment 13 provides that the content of education including the curricula should be acceptable. 89 The acceptable content of education should be of good quality, relevant and culturally appropriate. Consequently, quality education does not discriminate against children based on any of the prohibited grounds. Governments must also pay utmost attention to the needs of minorities and indigenous populations.90 86

The Right to Education Project ‘Beyond statistics Measuring Education as a Human Right’ available at http://www.right-to-education.org/sites/r2e.gn.apc. org/files/Background_paper.pdf (accessed on 6 March 2013). 87 The Right to Education Project ‘Beyond statistics Measuring Education as A Human Right’ available at http://www.right-to-education.org/sites/r2e.gn.apc. org/files/Background_paper.pdf (accessed on 6 March 2013). 88 Sachikonye LM ‘From ‘Growth with Equity’ to ‘Fast-Track’ Reform: Zimbabwe's Land Question’ (2003) 30 (96) Review of African Political Economy 237. 89 General Comment 13 para 6 (c). 90 Hyll-Larsen P (2010) 3.

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According to Hyll-Larsen, the content of education should not be biased or subjective but should take an objective perspective. 91 Acceptable education should have a positive psychological impact on the child’s personality. It should be capable of moulding the pattern of behaviours and attitudes that make a child distinctive over time. Accordingly, different human rights instruments concur that the content of education should be directed at the full development of the personality of a child. 92 Research has shown that educational experiences are associated with changes in personality qualities in human beings.93 Hence, after going through the education system, a child should not remain the same but certain aspects about them should change in terms of behaviour and attitude. After all, education is about change in behaviour. Furthermore, fundamental legal instruments stipulate that education should be geared towards strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. 94 As behaviours and attitudes are moulded with education, children should develop respect for human rights. Respect for human rights is a tool for sustainable development; hence, strong and better communities are built if people have respect for them. 95 Respect for human rights is therefore to be reinforced in children whilst they are still in their youth, so that they grow up to be responsible adults who appreciate the importance of human rights. International organisations such as the UN campaign for unity and peace among people in their diversity.96 To that end, different legal instruments provide that education should promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the 91

Hyll-Larsen P (2010) 3. Article 26 (2) UDHR; Article 13 (1) ICESCR; article 29 (a) and (b) CRC; article 5 (1) (a) of the CADE; Article 11 (2) (a) ACRWC; Article 13 (3) (a) African Youth Charter. 93 Jackson JJ The Effects of Educational Experiences on Personality Trait Development (unpublished Doctoral thesis, University of Illinois 2011) 13. 94 Article 26 (2) UDHR; Article 13 (1) ICESCR; article 29 (a) and (b) CRC; article 5 (1) (a) CADE; Article 11 (2) (a) ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (a) African Youth Charter. 95 Mutema EP ‘The Fast Track Land Reform Programme: Reflecting On The Challenges And Opportunities For Resettled Former Farm Workers At Fairfield Farm In Gweru District, Zimbabwe’ (2012) 14 (5) Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 102. 96 Osler A (2012) 4. 92

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activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. 97 In addition, declarations such as the Dakar World Education Forum Framework for Action, promoting Education for All, establish that educational programmes should promote mutual understanding, peace and tolerance, and help to prevent violence and conflict in communities affected by conflict. 98 These provisions allude to the need for an acceptable form of education which should transform children so that they achieve understanding, tolerance and friendship among different people.99 The legal instruments also acknowledge people’s diverse religious, moral and philosophical beliefs, hence the need for education to be acceptable. They endow parents with the freedom to choose the type of education for their children in conformity with their religious beliefs. 100 They also establish parents’ prior right to choose the kind of education that should be given to their children.101 This provision places an obligation on parents to play a role in determining an acceptable form of education that should be given to their children, one which conforms to their cultural convictions. In addition to what the international instruments have already proclaimed, regional instruments also make provisions as to certain issues that are peculiar to Africans. Within the African context, people have their own needs peculiar to them, hence the regional instruments make provisions for such special needs. While the international instruments encourage understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, the ACRWC goes further to encourage the same amongst different ethnic, tribal and religious groups.102 They provide that education should be directed at encouraging Africans to freely participate in preserving and strengthening positive African morals, traditional values and cultures.103

97 Article 26 (2) UDHR; Article 13 (1) ICESCR; article 29 (b) and (d) CRC and article 5 (1) (a) CADE. 98 One of the aims of the Dakar World Education Forum Framework for Action. 99 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed on 10 February 2013). 100 Tomasevski K (2001) 29. 101 Article 26 (3) UDHR; Article 13 (3) ICESCR and article 5 (b) CADE. 102 Article 13 (3) (c) African Youth Charter and Article 11 (2) (d) ACRWC. 103 Article 17 (2) ACHPR; article 11 (2) (c) ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (d) African Youth Charter.

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According to the former Special Rapporteur of Education, acceptability also involves ensuring that schools are safe and free from any forms of violence. 104 Similarly, the CRC and the ACRWC provide that children should be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence.105 In addition, the acceptability feature of the right to education obligates governments to establish minimum standards for education. In terms of the General Comment 13, governments must establish the minimum standards, which include the teacher-pupil ratio, the number of textbooks and the methods of instruction. 106 The teacher-pupil ratio in primary schools of Zimbabwe is 1:40.107 Additionally, as required by General Comment 13, minimum educational standards should be observed at schools.108 These minimum standards help to ensure that the education system does not go beyond the basic requirements in education, hence making it acceptable.

Adaptability of education Adaptability of education is fashioned by acknowledging the existence of a variety of cultures since human beings have various cultural groups. It is therefore imperative that education should adapt to the needs of different societies as they live in a dynamic world.109 Therefore, education should be flexible so that it can adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within their diverse social and cultural settings. 110 As a result, the conceptualisation of the adaptability of education can be based on children’s cultural affiliations and their preferences.111 In terms of the CRC, education should be directed towards developing respect for parents and their cultural identity, language and values; respect for the country in which the child lives; respect for the country of origin; and respect for civilization.112 104

Tomasevski K (2001) 35. Article 19 of the CRC. 106 General Comment 13 para 6 (c). 107 UNESCO ‘The EFA 2000 Assessment: Country Reports Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/zimbabwe/rapport_2_1.html (accessed on 8 March 2013) 108 General Comment 13 para 6 (c). 109 Naidu KB & Barman A ‘The world is dynamic, we have to change all the time: Ramesh Chandak’ Business Standard 18 February 2012 3. 110 General Comment 13 para 6 (d). 111 Almog S & Perry-Hazan L ‘Conceptualizing the Right of Children to Adaptable Education’ (2012) 20 International Journal of Children’s Rights 490. 112 Article 29 (1) (c) of the CRC. 105

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According to Almog and Perry-Hazan, legal instruments formulate the adaptability feature by mentioning several circles of belonging, such as family, community, nation and the global village.113 The adaptability of education to the children’s cultural affiliations is part of the children’s right to culture, which is perceived by some scholars as linked to other human rights such as freedom of association, freedom of religion, freedom of consciousness, and freedom of expression.114 If education is to adapt to children’s needs it must guarantee them freedom of thought, conscience and religion115 and freedom of expression.116 Children should be able to freely express their thoughts, develop their conscience and exercise their religion. Consequently, legal instruments guarantee the adaptability of the right to education by protecting the rights of children belonging to different ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. They provide that such children have a right to enjoy their own culture, profess and practice their own religion and use their own language with other members of their groups. 117 Similarly the ACRWC specifically provides that education should be directed at preserving and strengthening positive African morals, traditional values and cultures. 118 This therefore means that adaptable education should be directed at confirming children’s identities. The societies in which children find themselves are dynamic, hence, education should adapt to their changing needs within their diverse social and cultural settings.119 General Comment 13 provides that the content of education should be flexible enough to adjust to the changing needs of societies and communities.120 Education should also be able to address the challenging inequalities such as gender discrimination. Furthermore, education should prepare children to be responsible citizens, preserving their national independence and territorial integrity. It should also result in achieving African Unity and Solidarity, developing respect for the

113

Almog S & Perry-Hazan L ‘Conceptualizing the Right of Children to Adaptable Education’ (2012) 20 International Journal of Children’s Rights 490. 114 Almog S & Perry-Hazan L (2012) 490. 115 Article 14(1) of the CRC. 116 Article 13 of the CRC. 117 Article 30 of the CRC. 118 Article 11 (2) (c) ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (d) of the African Youth Charter. 119 General Comment No 13 para 6 (d). 120 General Comment No 13 para 6 (d).

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environment and natural resources 121 and understanding primary health care.122 Legal standards on children’s right to education also provide that in every issue dealing with children, the best interest of the child is paramount.123 If education is to adapt to the needs of children, their views should be considered. According to the CRC, children should be capable of forming their own views in all matters affecting them and their views should be given due weight depending on the age and maturity of the child. 124 Furthermore, the CRC states that school discipline should be administered in a way that respects the child’s human dignity. 125 Moreover, schools should be run in an orderly way and without the use of violence for children to benefit from education. 126 The case of children’s right to education is linked to the existence of a peaceful environment, with the CRC specifically stipulating the need for protection of children against violence. Article 9 of the CRC states that governments should take appropriate measures to protect children from all forms of violence.

Conclusion This chapter has provided the conceptual and normative legal frameworks on the right to education, which are used to critically analyse the extent to which children’s right to education was observed during the FTLRP. What has been highlighted by most instruments is that education should be accessible, adaptable, acceptable and available to those who are entitled to it. In addition, legal instruments that were explored have established that children who are in crisis situations such as IDPs also have a right to education without discrimination. As a result, different human rights instruments place obligations on state parties towards the realisation of the right to education both in normal and crisis situations. Hence, governments should respect, protect and fulfil the right to education, both in normal and crisis situations. The onus, therefore, rests with state parties to take 121

Article 13 (3) (e) of the African Youth Charter. Article 11 (2) (d-h). of the ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (f) of the African Youth Charter. 123 Article 3 of the CRC. See also General Comment 13 para 7. 124 Article 12(1) of the CRC. 125 Article 28 (2) of the CRC. 126 UNICEF ‘Fact Sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child’ available at http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf (accessed 6 November 2012). 122

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reasonable measures to achieve the right to education. In addition to calling upon state parties to take reasonable measures, international instruments also exhort states to incorporate international and regional instruments into their national legislation and policies. Chapter 3 will look at the fast track land reform programme and the impact it had on the right to education.

CHAPTER THREE THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME (FTLRP)

The aim of the FTLRP was to accelerate the pace of addressing the imbalances in land distribution. This was in order to alleviate population pressure in communal areas and to improve agricultural production by small-scale farmers as well as bring idle and under-used land into full production. As mentioned above, phase two aimed to acquire 5 million hectares of land by December 2001. 1 However, when the pace was accelerated, the target was shifted from 5 million to 9 million hectares of land, with the aim of resettling 160 000 landless poor families and 51 000 small to medium-scale indigenous commercial farmers. Consequently, to enable the acquisition of more land as quickly as possible, the FTLRP was carried out rapidly, thereby short-circuiting legal procedures as they would require more time. As a result, the beneficiaries’ title to the land was insecure as no formal procedures for the transfer of land took place. Due to the fast pace at which the FTLRP was implemented, the provision of roads, schools, clinics and boreholes lagged far behind the settlement process. Hence, those who were fortunate enough to be resettled were settled at places where there were no facilities such as clean and safe water, schools, clinics and adequate sanitation. The FTLRP saw a surge in political violence, with forced evictions happening violently without any compensation to the landowner. White commercial farmers were forced off their farms regardless of whether the farms had been listed for compulsory acquisition or not, as the process lacked clear criteria for the acquisition and allocation of land.2 In some cases, farmers were chased away together with their workers, some of

1 2

Human Rights Watch ‘Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ (2002) 14 (1) 2. Human Rights Watch (2002) 15.

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whom were of foreign descent. Likewise, the resettlement process was changed to an entirely government-driven approach. .

White commercial farmers and their employees were intimidated, assaulted, threatened and several of them killed by the war veterans and the ZANU PF youth militias. The violence was linked to the suspicion that white commercial farmers and their workers were staunch supporters of the MDC.3 Their farms were invaded regardless of whether the farms were listed for acquisition by the government or not. They were assaulted and, according to the UN Report,4 several tens of farm workers were killed.5 To show their anger while being chased away from their farms some white commercial farmers destroyed some structures on their farms before leaving the farms. Some farm workers’ houses were burnt by the invaders on allegations of supporting MDC. The Government of Zimbabwe is alleged to have tolerated and at times tacitly encouraged violent farm invasions by ignoring its own laws.6 On 17 March 2000, the High Court of Zimbabwe 7 issued an order in The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) v The Commissioner of Police, in which it declared illegal any occupation of land since February 2000 in pursuit of any claim to a right to occupy that property as part of the demonstrations instigated, prompted or encouraged by any person. Secondly, it warned everyone who had taken up occupation of any land as a result of the invasions to vacate such land within hours of the making of that order.8 However, ZANU-PF enacted laws that sought to legalise the land invasions in an effort to restore the rule of law. Consequently, the Rural Land Occupiers (Protection from Eviction) Act 2001 was enacted to legalise all land invasions that took place from 16 February 2000 to 1 March 2000.9 In April 2000 the laws that governed land acquisition were revised to take into account the changes in government policy. The Land Acquisition Act was amended in May and November 2000 to explain and 3

Politically related deaths now over 150, See also Staff Reporter The Zimbabwe Independent 4 October 2002 2. See also Goebel A (2005) 147. 4 Human Rights Watch (2002) 2. 5 It is not clear on exactly how many farm workers were killed but there is a clear indication that there are farm workers who were killed. 6 Medicine Masiiwa (2005) 220. 7 The presiding judge was Garwe J. 8 Masiiwa M (2005) 220. 9 Masiiwa M (2005) 221.

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to restructure various procedural aspects of the land resettlement process and to recommend new compensation rules in accordance with the Constitution. In April 2000, the Constitution of Zimbabwe was amended to further speed up the acquisition of land.10 This amendment clearly stated that it was the British Government’s obligation to compensate for land compulsorily acquired. Furthermore, it provided that if the British Government fails to pay compensation the Government of Zimbabwe would not be liable. However, this amendment was taken word for word from clause 57 of the rejected Draft Constitution of 2000. Amendment (No. 16) Act provided that: 1. In regard to the compulsory acquisition of agricultural land for the resettlement of people in accordance with a programme of land reform, the following must be regarded as of ultimate and overriding importance; (a) under colonial domination the people of Zimbabwe were unjustifiably dispossessed of their land and other resources without compensation; (b) the people consequently took arms in order to regain their land and political sovereignty and this ultimately resulted in the Independence of Zimbabwe in 1980; (c) the people of Zimbabwe must be enabled to reassert their rights and regain ownership of their land and accordingly. 2. the former colonial power has an obligation to pay compensation for agricultural land compulsorily acquired for resettlement, through a fund established for this purpose. 3. if the former colonial power fails to pay compensation through such a fund, the Government of Zimbabwe has no obligation to pay compensation for agricultural land acquired for resettlement.

Consequently, in terms of the Amendment the FTLRP was justified, and hence it was imperative to bring about equity through land acquisition and resettlement.11 Thus, violence was allowed to go on as an ill-fated cost of a long-overdue land reform that had been obstructed by the colonial settlers. As the June 2000 parliamentary elections were approaching, farm invasions became more violent. Despite the ruling party winning the majority of seats during the parliamentary elections, the invasions continued.

10 11

Amendment (No. 16) Act of 2000. Sachikonye L M (2003) 3.

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On 15 July 2000, the Fast Track Land Reform Programme was officially announced by the then Vice President of Zimbabwe, Joseph Msika. 12 Equipped with the Rural Land Occupiers (Protection from Eviction) Act of 2001, the Government went back to the Supreme Court,13 seeking an order that the rule of law had now been restored. The matter was heard in September 2001 in the case of The Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement & Others v The Commercial Farmers Union. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled14 that the land acquisition programme had become lawful, as the government had restored the rule of law. Furthermore, the Rural Land Occupiers (Protection from Eviction) Act of 2001 was upheld and declared constitutional. Hence, the Court claimed that the land reform programme had complied with the Constitution of Zimbabwe.15 In July 2003, the Fast Track Resettlement Programme came to an end but pockets of similar invasions continued with no end in sight. By the end of 2003, more than nine million hectares of land had been transferred from white commercial farmers to the black majority. In other words, about 78% of the white commercial farmers’ land was redistributed to the landless people. Masiiwa argued that the fast track land reform programme managed to put to an end a century-long land inequity problem. 16 However, the development of infrastructure was lagging ten years behind. 17 The provision of roads, schools, clinics, and boreholes was lagging far behind settler emplacement. In fact, fewer than 500 new boreholes have been drilled to date and fewer than 50 classrooms and teachers’ houses have been constructed.18 According to the United Nations 12

Precious Zikhali, Fast Track Land Reform and Agricultural Productivity in Zimbabwe, Environment for Development Discussion Paper Series (2008) 4. 13 The Government had reconstituted the Supreme Court by removing the Judge Garwe who had previously ruled that the land invasions were unconstitutional and illegal and replacing them with people who were known to be loyal to the ruling party. 14 The matter was presided over by the newly appointed Chief Justice Chidyausiku. It was ruled by a majority of four judges against one. 15 Masiiwa M (2005) 221. 16 Masiiwa M (2005) 221. 17 United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe Land Reform and Resettlement: Assessment and Suggested Framework for the Future Interim Mission Report (2002) 21. 18 United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe Land Reform and Resettlement: Assessment and Suggested Framework for the Future Interim Mission Report (2002) 21.

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Development Programme Mission (UNDPM), the FTLRP was not a satisfactory plan for sustained development of the new settlements.

Conclusion This chapter has discussed the different land reforms that took place in Zimbabwe during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras. In this chapter, it has been highlighted how the FTLRP was carried out leading to a violation of different socio-economic rights of commercial farmers and their workers as well as their families. What is important is that the chapter has shown that some of the human rights were violated during the FTLRP and had a direct impact on children’s right to education. Commercial farms were owned by white families who employed hundreds of black people. In most cases the white farmer provided the basic facilities such as housing, schools and clinics for his employees and their families. The next chapter shows how the implementation of the FTLRP impacted on children’s right to education, particularly farm workers’ children.

CHAPTER FOUR CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FTLRP

Given the controversial and violent nature of the FTLRP, several lessons can be drawn. This chapter provides a critical analysis of the FTLRP and its overall impact on the socio-economic needs of children of commercial workers as well as of the bleak future prospects that faced the de facto evicted commercial farm workers. In addition, this chapter presents the trail of disaster that the implementation of the chaotic and often violent FTLRP left in its wake. From the onset, this book set out to critically analyse the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education in Zimbabwe. The assessment of the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education was based on the comparison of the legal framework guiding the right to education as discussed in Chapter 2 and the FTLRP which was deliberated upon in Chapter 3. Overall, the assessment of the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education has shown that the FTLRP has had a negative impact on the realisation of the right to education. There are several observations that the researcher noted. First, the national programme was politicised as it was spearheaded by the former freedom fighters known as war veterans and the ZANU-PF militia.1 They took over commercial farms from their owners, ignoring laws that govern different aspects of human rights, including property rights. 2 Dabale (2014) reinforces this aspect of the disregard for property rights by pointing out that the non-servicing of debts and the erosion of property rights have kept investors away. The programme was also characterised

1

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum ‘Land Reform and Property Rights in Zimbabwe’ (2010) 3. Also available at http://www.kubatana.net/docs/hr/hrf_land_reform_property_rights_100812.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 2 Chisoro C & Naidu R ‘The Zimbabwean Crisis: Where To From Here?’ available at www.ddp.org.za/information-material/articles/...pdf/at.../file (accessed on 25 March 2013.)

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by violence, chaos, disorder and a lack of planning, and therefore had a negative impact on some sections of the Zimbabwean population.3 Secondly, the research has shown that the FTLRP led to an economic meltdown, resulting in a high inflation rate, pushing most people, not just in farming areas, to live below the poverty datum line.4 It also resulted in a brain drain, not only in the educational sector but also in all sectors in the country. Most skilled personnel, including teachers, left the country in search of greener pastures in other countries.5 In addition, the decrease in agricultural output led to food shortages pushing up the prices of basic foodstuffs in the whole country.6 As a result, most people could not afford to feed their families. This fact, inevitably, had a direct impact on children’s right to education. Thirdly, the massive loss of jobs resulted not only in the loss of employment but also of other benefits that farm workers had enjoyed by virtue of being employed.7 As previously discussed, the right to live in farm houses was part of the employment package. However, when employment was terminated the workers lost their entitlements to live in the farm houses which they had lived in for the greater part of their lives.8 As a result, most farm workers were displaced and had nowhere to go with their families. Some went to live in squatter camps and some were wandering about and became vagabonds and destitute. 9 They also lost other socio-economic benefits that they had been receiving from their employers, such as subsidised food, clean tap water, health and 3

Fontein J 'We Want to Belong to Our Roots and We Want to be Modern People': New Farmers, Old Claims Around Lake Mutirikwi, Southern Zimbabwe’ (2009) 10 (4) The Online Journal for African Studies. Also available at http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v10/v10i4a1.htm (accessed on 4 May 2013). 4 Moyo S., Chamabati W, Murisa T, Siziba D, Dangwa C, Mujeyi K & Nyoni N, Fast Track Land Reform Baseline Survey in Zimbabwe: Trends and Tendencies, 2005/06 (2009) 3. 5 In 2005, About 3.4 Million People Out Of A Population Of Approximately 11.6 Million People Were Living Outside The Country In Search For Better Opportunities. International Monetary Fund ‘Zimbabwe: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix’ IMF Country (2005) Report No. 05/359. See also Mutangi (2010) 9. 6 Maguwu F, Land Reform, Famine And Environmental Degradation In Zimbabwe, EPU Research Papers (2007) 16. 7 Sachikonye (2003) 7. 8 Shay S (2012) 145. 9 Sachikonye LM (2003) 12.

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educational facilities.10 All these, as discussed in Chapter 3, had a direct impact on realising children’s right to education during the FTLRP. Fourthly, from the analysis in Chapter 3, the researcher concluded that the implementation of the FTLRP failed to comply with the provisions of the legal framework on the realisation of the right to education in times of internal crisis. It can also be noted that the practice and implementation of the FTLRP did not only negate international benchmarks as provided in different legal instruments but also fell short of making education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to children of school-going age.11 The researcher therefore concluded that the FTLRP had a negative impact on the realisation of children’s right to education.

Correcting a Serious Colonial Wrong While the redistribution of land was a noble attempt at righting a historical wrong, the implementation of the process was fraught with a myriad of challenges. Firstly the politicisation of the FTLRP, which sought to correct the control of the means of production, was not the best and most viable way of finding solutions to an economic issue. Secondly, the chaos which characterised the land acquisition process reflected a desperate political entity that had run out of plans to entice the electorate. This tended to expose ZANU PF as a political party that had run out of orthodox political ideas free of coercion and propaganda. In the end farm workers and their children became victims of a political ploy gone wrong. Drawing from the mistakes and unnecessary violence and chaos that characterised the FTLRP, a number of lessons can be drawn that can be used to improve similar land redistribution processes. Given the negative impact that the FTLRP had on children’s right to education, it is necessary that recommendations be put in place to avoid similar occurrences. As a result, the following are recommendations to facilitate the realisation of the right to education, particularly in times of internal conflict. These are meant to inform a cross-section of individuals and institutions such as the Government of Zimbabwe, other governments, 10

Mbaya S, Land Reform In Zimbabwe: Lessons And Prospects From A Poverty Alleviation Perspective. A Paper Presented At The Conference On Land Reform And Poverty Alleviation In Southern Africa, Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria, South Africa 4th –5th June, (2001) 16. See also Sachikonye LM (2003) 5. 11 Mbaya S (2001) 9.

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legislators, policy-makers and advocates of children’s rights in dealing with the right to education, particularly in times of internal conflict.

Emergency Preparedness Plan As part of its general education plans, the Government should develop an emergency preparedness plan. First, the Government should pass laws and policies which recognise the right to education in emergencies. 12 Such laws and policies will enable it to amicably deal with crisis, ensuring safe continuity of teaching and learning at all levels. The plans should include education in humanitarian response and long-term disaster prevention policy and support. 13 Hence, pedagogic institutions should teach peace education and conflict resolution through both formal and informal education. 14 In-service training can be provided for teachers who are already qualified and who can encourage communities to work together on approaches to reduce and prevent risk from occurring.15 Secondly, immediate action should be taken to replace and/or fix damaged and unsafe school buildings that are used as classrooms, especially those that are on the verge of collapse.16 The replacement and fixing of schools after crisis has the advantage of making them centres for protective, care and socio-economic services such as safe water and sanitation, nutrition,

12

UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 13 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 14 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 15 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 16 Philippines Report to the Royal Government of Netherlands, Education in Emergencies & Post-Crisis Transition Programme: Building Safe Learning Environment – Safe Schools Project First Progress Report 15 January – 31 December (2007) 5. In the Philippines, the Building Safe Learning Environment (BSLE) Project had to replace damaged schools for about 18,000 school children in 29 recipient primary schools and 780 teachers in the 72 targeted elementary and secondary schools.

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health and recreation, especially in rural communities.17 This will enable communities to revive themselves and the Government to rebuild the country’s capacities by developing new and better education systems.18 Such proactive measures to prevent internal conflict should be promoted during normal times, so that when crisis strikes people will be ready to deal with it. The Government should work with children, parents, communities and civil societies in establishing schools as zones of peace (ZoP).19 Sanctions should be devised to deal with any cases of disruption of education in times of internal conflict.

Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies (MSEEs) MSEEs are useful in emergency preparedness and in humanitarian advocacy. Hence, the Government should draw from the MSEEs that are designed for use in emergency response to education in crisis situations.20 For example, the MSEEs such as INEE and other frameworks such as the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI) Progressive Framework are very useful. They are built on the foundations of the CRC, the Dakar Education for All (EFA) framework, the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Charter. 21 They help governments and individuals to acquire relevant technical knowledge, tools and good practices which will help them to amicably deal with education in times of conflict.22 They also help improve coordination and 17 INEE Coordinator for Minimum Standards and Network Tools, Minimum Standards for Education: Preparedness, Response, Recovery (2012) 2. 18 UNICEF ‘Emergencies and Post-Crisis Education’ available at http://www.unicef.org/education/index_44883.html (accessed on 9 May 2013) 19 UNICEF ‘Schools as Zones of Peace’ http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry /nepal_65410.html (accessed on 7 May 2013). The UN System appeals to governments, the political parties, and all child protection partners and youth organisations to respect the spirit of Schools as Zones of Peace. For example, in May 2011 the Nepal Government endorsed a directive declaring all schools, (including school buses) as Zones of Peace. 20 Anderson A, Implementing minimum standards for education in emergencies: lessons from Aceh, available at http://www.odihpn.org/humanitarian-exchangemagazine/issue-32/implementing-minimum-standards-for-education-inemergencies-lessons-from-aceh (accessed on 8 May 2013) 21 INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (2001) 7. Redesign: London 22 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013).

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capacity building amongst actors at national, regional and international levels.23

Makeshift schools Attempts at maintaining the situation on the acquired commercial farms saw the Government and the new farmers making frantic efforts to maintain the education system. In cases of displacement and where schools are destroyed or closed, the Government should ensure that displaced children and those whose schools have been destroyed or closed have access to national education systems and are integrated into them.24 The Government can achieve this by encouraging makeshift schools to ensure that children have access to a minimum level of education during and after internal crisis. 25 Such schools do not need any formal infrastructure and resources to set up. They can be built with logs and rocks or can be held under trees, under bridges, in caves, camouflaged huts and tents or on the streets, to enable continuation of attendance by children.26 They are normally overseen by volunteers in the communities who wish to help children realise their right to education regardless of the situations they find themselves in.27 Home-based schools are also makeshift schools and are helpful in keeping children safe in times of crisis.

23 UNICEF Machel Study 10-year Strategic Review: Children and Conflict in a Changing World (2009) 121. UNICEF: New York. 24 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 25 Mwambene L (2008) 232-233. 26 In Delhi a makeshift school was conducted under a railway bridge and it proved to be a success. Up to 70 children between four and fourteen years old benefited from a makeshift school with some having higher aspirations of being medical doctors. See Bhattacharya S ‘Makeshift school under railway bridge helps students beat the odds’ available at http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/south-asia/make shift-school-under-railway-bridge-helps-students-beat-the-odds (accessed on 6 May 2013). In Tanzania 65 per cent of refugee children have accessed a minimum level of education in makeshift schools. See Mwambene L (2008) 233. 27 In Mumbai a group of 15 volunteers use a public park as a makeshift school and some 250 children from local neighborhoods and slums attend the school. See Pande ‘A Makeshift Schools Help Mumbai Slum Children Beat the Odds’ Voice of America 30 April 2013. In addition, about 80 children from Zwelitsha in Khayelitsha, Western Cape in South Africa are attending a makeshift school at a

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The need for government interventions The principal purpose of governments is to protect their citizens and to provide for their basic needs. In the case of this book, the Government should facilitate the provision of education and take measures to protect children who are vulnerable to abuse and teachers who are targeted in times of crisis, as a matter of priority. Measures should be taken to protect especially girls and female teachers who are most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. 28 Their safety should be guaranteed en route to and from school, and there should be provided an aggression free environment to help keep them in school.29 Appropriate education programmes should be put in place to cater for children who could not complete their education as a result of the internal crisis in the country. These could take the form of second-chance, accelerated learning programmes and life skills education.30 In addition, vocational skills and job training programmes that are market-driven and lead to sustainable employment opportunities are also necessary to improve their socio-economic lives.31 The Government should ensure that such programs are available at the beneficiaries’ discretion so that they can improve their standards of life.32 Girls and young women who got pregnant as a result of the implementation of the FTLRP by the Government should also be considered in government interventions. 33 The child-mothers can be supported by providing them with scholarships34 to enable them to continue with their education, as well as materials such as uniforms, books and pens.35 Child grants should also

local church. See Fredericks I, ‘ Unplaced pupils taught by volunteers in church’ IOL 29 January 2013. 28 UNICEF Education in emergencies available at http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/education_13051.html (accessed on 7 May 2013). 29 INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (2001) 39. 30 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 may 2013.) 31 Article 13 (4) (e) of the African Youth Charter. 32 Article 14 (2) (a) of the African Youth Charter. 33 Article 13 (4) (h) of the African Youth Charter. 34 Article 13 (4) (l) of the African Youth Charter. 35 Mwambene L (2008) 234.

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be provided to enable them to take care of the children they have as a direct impact of the FTLRP. Psycho-social support, counselling services and services for meeting socio-economic needs should be made available to young men and women who were affected by the FTLRP, so that they can cope with their experiences during the conflict. 36 The Government should fund policies and programmes to promote quality education in emergencies, including free primary education. 37 This will enable making primary education compulsory.

Child participation Children make important contributions to extensive forms of accountability in times of crisis.38 The Government and international organisations should support child participation and allow children to voice their views about what they learn and how they learn, and ensure they are empowered by the relevant content of education and an active learning process. 39 Such participation can enhance children's psychosocial well-being, helping them gain the tools to protect themselves and participate in the decisions and events affecting their lives.40 This can be achieved by drawing upon good practices in community-based and child-led experiential learning.41

36

INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (2001) 19. 37 INEE (2001) 7. 38 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 39 INEE Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction (2001) 18. See also Article 13 of the CRC. 40 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). See also Article 12 of the CRC. 41 UN ‘Background Note for the UN General Assembly: Education in Emergencies’ available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/background.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013).

CHAPTER FIVE ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME ON CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE

Introduction This chapter seeks to establish the extent to which the FTLRP impacted on children’s right to education in Zimbabwe. As previously discussed in Chapter 2, all legal instruments generally guarantee that education should be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to all people, notably children of school-going age. 1 The discussion on the content of the children’s right to education has also highlighted that the realisation of the right to education is dependent on and should be allied to the realisation of other socio-economic rights. So, in order to adequately address the impact of the FTLRP on children’s right to education, this chapter discusses the impact that the programme had on other human rights, particularly socioeconomic rights, since all human rights are universal, indivisible, interlinked, interrelated and interdependent.2

The Effects of the FTLRP on Human Rights The implementation of the FTLRP had far-reaching effects on a number of socio-economic as well as associated issues ranging from food production, school infrastructure, shelter, clean drinking water, health provision among others. This section discusses these issues and how the FTLRP impacted on their provision.

1

General Comment 13 para 6. Mario G ‘Social Economic Rights and Human Rights Commissions’ (1995) 17 (1) Human Rights Quarterly 155. See also The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Part I, paragraph 5 adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on June 25, 1993.

2

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Provision of food Throughout its history, Zimbabwe has been celebrated for its agriculture as the bread basket of Southern Africa. 3 But the FTLRP decreased Zimbabwe’s agricultural output by 70 per cent as a result of the eviction of almost 90 per cent of white commercial farmers by the end of 2009, with the number continuing to increase.4 Consequently, this eviction triggered a wave of food shortages and contributed to the pushing up of the prices of foodstuffs.5 It has also seen a precipitous decline in rural economies with the majority of the farm labour force losing their jobs.6 Generally, the food situation was bad in the whole country and worst for farm workers who had lost their jobs, as they did not have money to feed their families.7 This affected not only people within the farming communities, but also Zimbabwe as a whole including urban areas. The Government and individuals had to go to neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi in search for food. 8 Some online delivery services were also devised to deliver foodstuffs from as far as overseas to Zimbabwe.9 Obviously this had a direct impact on children’s right to education as hungry children could not attend and concentrate in school.

Shelter Before the FTLRP, farm workers lived in houses provided by their employers.10 Their right to live in farm houses was tied to their conditions 3

Mawere M (2011) 72. See also Introduction to this mini-thesis. Mawere M (2011) 73. 5 Musemwa, L and Mushunje, A (2011) 37. The right to food is protected in human rights instruments at international, regional and national levels. See Article 25 of the UDHR; Article 11 of the ICESCR. 6 Scoones I, Marongwe N, Mavedzenge B, Murimbarimba F, Mahenehene J & Sukume C, Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: A summary of findings (2011) 1. 7 Article 25 of the UDHR and Article 11 (1) of the ICESCR recognize the right to food under the right to adequate standard of living. However, Article 11 (2) of the ICESCR recognises everyone’s right to be free from hunger. 8 Shaw A ‘Food Shortages: Zim Buys Maize from Zambia’ News24 8 May 2012 2. 9 Parcel2Go.com is one of the courier service providers that deliver groceries to Zimbabwe. See their website and what they say about their courier services to Zimbabwe. See the Parcel2Go.com ‘Parcel Delivery to Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.parcel2go.com/parcel-delivery/zimbabwe (accessed on 6 May 2013). 10 The right to housing is a human right. See Article 25 UDHR; Article 11 ICSECR; Article 20 (2) (a) of the ACRWC. 4

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of employment on the farms. 11 When the commercial farmers were evicted and the farm was taken over by the new owner, most farm workers lost their jobs12 as well as their entitlements to live in farm houses.13 It is estimated that about 300 000 to 350 000 people were employed only in large-scale commercial farms as permanent workers.14 These workers and their families make up a population of about 2 million people. 15 This therefore means that about 2 million people were left without shelter. 16 Given that the FTLRP was characterised by violence, some houses belonging to the commercial farmers as well as those of the farm workers were looted, burnt down or destroyed by marauding ZANU PF youth militias as well as war veterans who spear-headed the farm invasions during the FTLRP. 17 Hence, farm workers and their families were left without shelter and their belongings were destroyed in the process. In January 2002 the UNDP reported that the number of Zimbabwean and foreign nationals displaced as farm workers during the FTLRP was estimated at 30 000 families. 18 As a result, some of the displaced farm workers had nowhere to go, so they opted to live with their families in squatter camps that mushroomed on the outskirts of the farms or informal settlements where there was no decent shelter. 19 It was noted that the living conditions in the squatter camps were horrendous: sanitation 11

Waeterloos E & Rutherford B (2004) 547. Waeterloos E & Rutherford B (2004) 547. 13 Sachikonye LM (2003) 7. 14 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre ‘The Many Faces of Displacement: IDPs in Zimbabwe’ (2008) 32. 15 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Zimbabwe: Unknown Numbers of IDPs Still Need Humanitarian Assistance as Well as Support for Long-Term Durable Solutions (2011) 4. 16 Article 25 of the UDHR 17 Exploring Africa ‘Module 30: Zimbabwe Teacher’s Edition. Activity three: Expand the Land Question’ available at http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m30/activity3.php (accessed on 5 May 2013) 18 United Nations Development Programme, Zimbabwe Land Reform And Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework For The Future, Interim Mission Report (2002) 35. 19 Chambati W & Moyo S ‘The Impact of the Fast Track on Former Farm Workers’ in the Utete Report (2003) 147. Also available at http://www.sarpn.org/documents/d0000746/P840Utete_Report_August2003_Former-farm-workers.pdf (accessed on 2May 2013). See also Sachikonye LM (2003) 235. 12

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facilities were inadequate and basic health care scarce, with limited schools available for commercial workers’ children. Some workers became stranded and wandered about since they had nowhere to go, and ended up living in situations similar to those of the destitute and vagabonds without fixed places of abode.20 Lack of accommodation also had a direct impact on the realisation of the right to education, as it is essential that people have a home in which to live and keep their belongings.

Schools Under Threat Before the FTLRP Zimbabwe had been known for its high percentage of adult literacy, approximately 90 per cent, which is almost the highest in Africa.21 On commercial farms, educational facilities were also provided by the farmers for their workers’ children.22 They funded the schools and oversaw their maintenance. 23 However, during the FTLRP, the schools were closed as commercial farmers were evicted and there was no one to fund and run the schools. In the face of attacks by marauding war veterans, ZANU-PF militia and youths, some farm schools were turned into bases for the invasions.24 Some teachers were intimidated, assaulted and tortured as they were suspected of being supporters of the MDC.25 When the new owners took over land ownership, some buildings which were used as classrooms were converted to other uses. Hence, teachers and children in some cases used old dilapidated buildings as classrooms some of which were on the verge of collapse. Some children were also forced out of school on suspicion of their families supporting the opposition party, the MDC.26

20

Sachikonye LM (2003) 235. Trading Economics ‘Literacy Rate; Adult Total (% of People Ages 15 and above) in Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.tradingeconomics.com/zimbabwe/literacy-rate-adult-total-percent-ofpeople-ages-15-and-above-wb-data.html (accessed on 5 May 2013) 22 Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R ‘A Situational Analysis of Former Commercial Farm Workers in Zimbabwe, a Decade after the Jambanja’ (2012) 3(3) Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences 226. 23 Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R (2012) 226. 24 Human Rights Watch (2002) 21. 25 Masiiwa M (2005) 222. 26 Human Rights watch (2002) 16. 21

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As some schools were closed, children were forced to go and attend other schools which were still functional far away from the farms. Some children had to walk very long distances of 30 kilometres to the nearest school and another 30 kilometres coming back.27 In addition, walking long distances made children vulnerable to abuse, especially girls, some of whom were raped on their way to school resulting in unwanted pregnancies.28 As a result, some children had to drop out of school because they lived far away from the schools and had no transport to carry them to school, unlike previously when the white commercial farmer would provide transport in such cases.29 At some farms, the buildings which were used as schools were burnt down or destroyed during the violence that occurred.30 It is acknowledged that most farm schools were not well furnished; however the little furniture that they had was destroyed during the FTLRP. 31 As a result, some children were left with no classrooms or furniture and some had to learn under trees sitting on the ground or on bricks, which is a situation that is not conducive for learning purposes. 32 Also, those who were resettled came to live at places where there were no schools, or where the schools had just been introduced, hence there were no buildings or furniture.33

27

Dube S ‘Rural pupils disadvantaged’ Chronicle 10 February 2013 2. Dube S ‘Rural pupils disadvantaged’ Chronicle 10 February 2013 2. 29 Dube S ‘Rural pupils disadvantaged’ Chronicle 10 February 2013 2. 30 Exploring Africa ‘Module 30: Zimbabwe Teacher’s Edition. Activity three: Expand the Land Question’ available at http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m30/activity3.php (accessed on 5 May 2013). 31 Exploring Africa ‘Module 30: Zimbabwe Teacher’s Edition. Activity three: Expand the Land Question’ available at http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m30/activity3.php (accessed on 5 May 2013.) 32 Mutema EP ‘The Fast Track Land Reform Programme: Reflecting On The Challenges And Opportunities For Resettled Former Farm Workers At Fairfield Farm In Gweru District, Zimbabwe’ (2012) 14 (5) Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 102. 33 Smith AD ‘Aid to Zimbabwe must take account of resettled farmers on contested land’ The Guardian 4 May 2012. Also available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/may/04/aidzimbabwe-resettled-farmers-contested-land (accessed 26 August 2013). 28

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At some schools the war veterans, and the youth militias took over the teaching of the political history of ZANU-PF and patriotism, as they believed teachers were criticising the ruling party. 34 They would teach children to chant revolutionary songs which oppose whites, instilling in children the idea that all whites are bad people who took land from the indigenous people.35 Children were also taught to chant ZANU-PF slogans during the lessons to ensure that children would view the ruling party as the only party that is entitled to rule Zimbabwe.36 Some school children especially boys joined the war veterans and youth militias in committing acts of violence such as beating people, destroying and looting properties.37 Hence, children witnessed gross violations of human rights happening to their teachers, parents, relatives and neighbours. In places where new schools had been built and even in the existing ones there was a shortage of trained teachers as these people were not willing to work in such areas for fear of being victimised.38 This had a direct impact on children’s right to education as some children were left with no schools in their vicinity and some did not have access to education at all as the schools had been destroyed.

Safe drinking water Before the FTLRP, people on farms used either tapped water or borehole water provided by the commercial farmers. However, soon after the FTLRP when the farm owners had been evicted the sources of tapped water were either vandalized or disconnected by the Zimbabwe National 34

Langa V ‘Coltart Warns War Vets’ available at http://davidcoltart.com/2011/03/coltart-warns-war-vets/ (accessed 25 December 2012). 35 Guma L ‘War vets demand to teach history in schools’ available at http://www.zimeye.org/?p=27489 (accessed on 6 May 2013). 36 Sithole B, Campbell B, Dore D & Kozanayi W, ‘Narratives on Land: State Peasant Relations Over Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ African Studies Quarterly 7 available at http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Bev-Sithole.pdf (accessed on 22 April 2013). 37 Exploring Africa ‘Module 30: Zimbabwe Teacher’s Edition. Activity three: Expand the Land Question’ available at http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m30/activity3.php (accessed on 5 May 2013) 38 Mutangi GT, ‘Livelihoods after Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ Working Paper 13 The Changing Patterns of Farm Labour after the Fast Track Land Reform Programme: The Case of Guruve District Working Paper Series (2010) 12.

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Water Authority (ZINWA) due to non-payment. 39 Also, borehole water ceased, as the electricity that was used to pump it up was cut by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) for unpaid bills. 40 This also affected schools, which had been dependant on boreholes for safe drinking water. Hence, people resorted to running water from the nearby rivers for drinking purposes or used unprotected wells dug on river banks.41 As a result there were outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera within the farming communities.42 The lack of safe drinking water had a direct impact on the realization of the right to education, because some children could not attend school due to illnesses caused by the use of unsafe drinking water.

Health centres Previously, the farm owners had provided health facilities to farm workers and their families on the farm. But as a result of the FTLRP, health facilities such as clinics on the farms were closed during that time as the new farmer owners were not able to provide the same health services previously provided by commercial farmers. 43 Satellites clinics were provided, but they were not adequate to cater for the whole community as they would visit maybe three times per month. Consequently, most people, including children, were affected by diseases such as cholera, measles, malaria and typhoid. In addition, because of high levels of poverty, there was an equally high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Hence some parents were affected and they became ill or died, leaving the children without a bread winner who would send them to school. As discussed above, there was no clean water and so it was difficult to achieve minimum health standards such as adequate sanitation and health, since human rights are interlinked and interdependent. In the existing health centres, there was a shortage of trained personnel as most qualified people got scared of working in such

39 Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R, ‘A Situational Analysis of Former Commercial Farm Workers in Zimbabwe, a Decade after the Jambanja’ (2012) 3(3) Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences 226. 40 Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R (2012) 226. 41 Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R (2012) 226. 42 WHO World Water Day Report available at http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/takingcharge.html [Accessed 2 April 2013] 43 Mutangi GT (2010) 10.

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volatile areas for fear of being victimised.44 This had a direct impact on the realisation of the right to education as children would miss out classes while trying to get treatment in cities where health centres were available.

Employment on Commercial Farms Employment brings the much-needed income and security into the family. Before the FTLRP the agricultural sector employed the highest number of employees in Zimbabwe. It is estimated that about 300 000 to 350 000 people were employed only on large-scale commercial farms as permanent workers and a further 250 000 to 270 000 as seasonal workers. 45 Approximately, 70 per cent of the farm labour force was affected by the massive job losses as a result of the FTLRP. 46 Their contracts of employment ceased as a result of the large-scale invasions of the commercial farms without any notice. Clearly, the job losses resulted not only in the loss of livelihoods but also in the risk of losing other benefits and entitlements as workers. 47 Workers lost basic social services like schools, clinics, clean water, sanitation, supplementary rations and access to plots on which to grow food for their families. 48 Furthermore, some farm workers who managed to secure jobs from the new farm owners were exploited, by either being underpaid or not being paid.49 This had a direct impact on children’s attendance at school, as most parents could not afford to pay school fees since they had lost their jobs on the commercial farms.

44

Mutangi GT (2010) 10. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2008) 32. 46 Sachikonye L (2003) 6. Also available at http://www.kubatana.net/docs/landr/fctz_farm_workers_0305.pdf (accessed on 8 May 2013). 47 Chambati W & Moyo S (2003) 140. Also available at http://www.sarpn.org/documents/d0000746/P840Utete_Report_August2003_Former-farm-workers.pdf (accessed on 2May 2013) 48 United Nations Development Programme, Zimbabwe Land Reform And Resettlement: Assessment And Suggested Framework For The Future, Interim Mission Report January 2002 Page 34. 49 Mazingi L & Kamidza R ‘Inequality in Zimbabwe’ in Jauch H & Muchena D (eds) Tearing Us Apart: Inequalities in Southern Africa (2011) 350. 45

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Property Rights As discussed above, the FTLRP was characterised by politically-motivated violence, chaos, disorder and lawlessness. Farmers were chased away from their farms without any formal or legal procedures.50 As a result of the nature of the programme the invaders would just take over the farms, pegoff the land, at times damage the property, steal equipment and livestock, loot homes, burn crops, barricade homes, and search homes without search warrants, 51 and occupy land without proper documentation. 52 All these actions were in violation of the right to property and the right not to be interfered with. 53 All these violations were done without the owners’ consent. 54 As a result of the FTLRP, 4 500 commercial farmers were thrown off their farms and replaced by 150 000 families of the indigenous people. 55 However, some teaching materials such as textbooks, which were already available at some farm schools, and some mini libraries that were starting to develop were destroyed.

Right to life, assaults and torture Before the FTLRP, people lived peaceful lives and any violence was reported to the police and the perpetrators were apprehended. During the FTLRP, when the police were called to intervene in the violence they did not take any action to halt it, and in some cases they were directly implicated in the abuses. 56 As a result, by June 2000 at least 26 farm workers had been killed, and no arrests were reported to have been made

50

Sithole B, Campbell B, Dore D & Kozanayi W, ‘Narratives on Land: State Peasant Relations Over Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe’ African Studies Quarterly 7 available at http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Bev-Sithole.pdf (accessed 22 April 2013). 51 Chaumba J, Scoones I and Wolmer W (2003) 542. 52 Chaumba J, Scoones I and Wolmer W (2003) 542. 53 Article 17 of the UDHR states that everyone has a right to own property alone as well as in association with others and that no one can be arbitrarily deprived of his property. See also Article 14 of the ACHPR. 54 Chaumba J, Scoones I & Wolmer W (2003) 542. 55 Aid to Zimbabwe must take account of resettled farmers on contested land, available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/ may/04/aid-zimbabwe-resettled-farmers-contested-land (accessed on 28 December 2012) 56 Human Rights Watch (2002) 2. See also Human Rights Watch (2002) 23.

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in connection with any of the murders. 57 Some farm owners were also killed in the ensuing violence and according to Human Rights Watch at least seven farm owners had been killed in the violence by 2002. 58 According to Human Rights Watch, war veterans and ZANU-PF militia who were leading the farm invasions intimidated and assaulted both the farmers and their workers. As a result, in June 2000, at least 1,600 farm workers had been assaulted, and 11 raped in the ensuing violence.59 No arrests were also reported to have been made in connection with any of these human rights abuses.60 This also had a direct impact on children’s right to education as they lost their breadwinners; or, when their parents were tortured or assaulted and could not fend for their families, some children had to drop out of school.

Children’s vulnerability The FTLRP resulted in massive unemployment, hence poverty was rife. Most children had to drop out of school as their parents could not afford to send them to school. As discussed in Chapter 2, poverty makes children vulnerable to exploitation and abuses such as child labour, trafficking, substance abuse, early marriages and so on. As a result, most children were forced to work to supplement their families’ income. Some girls were impregnated during the time they attended rallies and other overnight meetings locally known as ‘pungwe’. Some girls fell pregnant because they were raped while walking long distances to school and some entered into early marriages because they were idle or needed food or somewhere to settle. As has already been mentioned, some boys joined the ZANU-PF youths and were involved in the violence that took place during FTLRP. Because of the nature of the FTLRP’s environment some boys engaged in activities such as drug and alcohol abuse. This had a direct impact on the

57

This was reported by the National Employment Council for the agricultural industry, a tripartite body of government, employers and unions. 58 Human Rights Watch (2002) 19. 59 Amnesty International ‘Zimbabwe: Human Rights in Crisis Shadow’ Report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (2007) 7. Also available at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR46/016/2007/en/6f1c11c5-d38e11dd-a329-2f46302a8cc6/afr460162007en.pdf (accessed 7 May 2013). 60 Botswana Centre of Human Rights ‘Human Rights in Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.ditshwanelo.org.bw/zim_rights.html#portaeg (accessed 8 March 2013). Also note that people who went to report cases of violence were in some cases arrested and detained without being charged.

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realisation of children’s right to education as most children were caught up in different exploitations and abuses.

The Effects of the FTLRP on Children’s Right to Education The FTLRP had an enduring impact on children’s right to education. This section interrogates the 4A Scheme of the right to education, which are availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of education, in the aftermath of the FTLRP. The 4A Scheme is discussed on the backdrop of relevant international instruments in an effort to establish whether the conditions that prevailed during and in the aftermath of the FTLRP were conducive enough for children’s right to education to be realised.

Availability of education As discussed in Chapter 2, international standards on the right to education provide that education should be made available to everyone.61 Similarly, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has provided in General Comment 13 that education should be available.62 It provides that education is available if there is adequate and safe infrastructure for teaching and learning purposes.63 The discussion in Chapter 3 indicated that commercial farm owners who were funding farm schools were evicted from their properties during the farm invasions. On one hand, this culminated in a violation of the farmers’ right to property, which is protected by different legal instruments.64 On the other hand, because of the curtailed movement of people in the face of marauding war veterans, ZANU-PF militia and youths and the closure of farm schools as the farmers were evicted, education in farm schools became unavailable. 65 Additionally, the change in ownership as the farms were taken over by the new farm owners meant changes in the use of buildings which had been previously used as classrooms.66 Some classrooms were converted to other uses by the new owners and in some cases old dilapidated horse stables and garages were used as classrooms, some of which were on the verge of 61

Article 26 of the UDHR. General Comment 13 para 6 (a). 63 General Comment 3 Para 6 (a). 64 Article 17 (1) of the UDHR; Article 14 of the ACHPR. 65 Sachikonye LM (2003) 7. 66 Sachikonye LM (2003) 7. 62

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collapse.67 In some cases, some classrooms were burnt or destroyed during the violence that obtained during the FTLRP.68 The destructive behaviour also affected the furniture: although previously most farm schools had not been well furnished, the few items of furniture that they had was destroyed during the FTLRP. As a result, some children were left with no classrooms because they were either used for a different purpose or destroyed. Moreover, the old dilapidated buildings which were used posed a danger to children and their teachers. Clearly this is a violation of the provision of General Comment 13, which provides that education is available if there is adequate and safe infrastructure.69 Furthermore, it should be recalled that General Comment 13 states that education is available if there are adequate sanitation facilities for both sexes.70 In addition, the inadequate sanitation facilities that were available catered for more children than before. As some schools were closed because of the FTLRP, some children went on to enrol at neighbouring schools, thereby increasing the number enrolled in those schools that remained. Additionally, people who were employed to ensure that sanitation facilities were clean lost their jobs as the farmer was evicted. An NGO, Save the Children, has also indicated that basic sanitation services and the health care system have collapsed in Zimbabwe since the FTLRP.71 This clearly violates the right to health as proclaimed by legal instruments72 and the provision of General Comment 13, which requires schools to have adequate sanitation facilities for both sexes. Furthermore, General Comment 13 provides that schools must have safe drinking water if they are to function properly. As noted in Chapter 3, soon after the eviction of farm owners, the sources of tapped water on the 67 Mutema EP ‘The Fast Track Land Reform Programme: Reflecting On The Challenges And Opportunities For Resettled Former Farm Workers At Fairfield Farm In Gweru District, Zimbabwe’ (2012) 14 (5) Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa 102. 68 Exploring Africa ‘Module 30: Zimbabwe Teacher’s Edition. Activity three: Expand the Land Question’ available at http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m30/activity3.php (accessed on 5 May 2013) 69 General Comment 3 para 6 (a). 70 General Comment 3 para 6 (a). 71 Save the ‘Children Zimbabwe: Relief and Development for Children’ available at http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.7086115/k.D96C/Zim babwe.htm (accessed on 14 April 2013) 72 Article 25 of the UDHR.

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farms were disconnected by ZINWA due to non-payment.73 Where there were boreholes, the water ceased as the electricity that was used to pump it up was cut, as there was no one to pay for the bills.74 As a result, there was no safe drinking water at most schools and children were required to bring their own water bottles from home for drinking. Hence, people resorted to running water from the nearby rivers for drinking or used unguarded shallow wells on the river banks.75 This poses a high health risk especially when it comes to outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and typhoid. 76 This had a direct impact on children’s right to education as some of them would get sick because of using unclean and unsafe water; hence they would not attend school and lag behind others. Obviously this violates the provisions of the General Comment 13, which provides that there must be access to safe drinking water at schools, and human rights instruments which provide for everyone’s right to water.77 It is also important to note that the right to water is also critical for the achievement of adequate sanitation and health since human rights are interlinked and interdependent. As a result of the FTLRP, clinics on the farms were closed during the FTLRP and the new farmer owners could not provide the same health services as those provided by the white commercial farmers as they could not bear the costs of running such centers.78 Although satellite clinics were provided, they were not adequate to cater for the whole community as they would visit maybe three times per month. As a result, an escalating number of children and families were affected by infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cholera, measles, malaria and typhoid. This had a direct impact on children’s right to 73

Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R (2012) 226. Mabvurira V, Masuka T, Banda RG & Frank R (2012) 226. 75 British Red Cross ‘Water and Sanitation in Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Health-and-social-care/Healthissues/Water-and-sanitation/Water-and-sanitation-in-Zimbabwe (accessed on 20 February 2013). 76 British Red Cross ‘Water and Sanitation in Zimbabwe’ available at http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Health-and-social-care/Healthissues/Water-and-sanitation/Water-and-sanitation-in-Zimbabwe (accessed on 20 February 2013). WHO World Water Day Report available at http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/takingcharge.html (Accessed 2 April 2013) 77 General Comment 13 para 6 (a). 78 Mutangi GT (2010) 10. 74

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education as sick children cannot attend school because of illness or death in the family.79 Consequently, there was a prevalence of HIV/AIDS hence, some parents were affected and they became ill or died, leaving the children without a bread winner who would send them to school. Further, the ICESCR as discussed in Chapter 2 seeks to protect the working conditions of teachers as a pre-requisite for making education available to children. It states that the material conditions of teaching staff should be continuously improved inter alia. Similarly the General Comment 13 clearly states that trained teachers should receive domestically competitive salaries.80 However, it has been noted that since the FTLRP the economy of Zimbabwe has gone down. As a result teachers’ salaries continued to be low and unattractive as the Government could neither afford to increase them nor improve their working conditions. 81 Soon after the FTLRP, teachers’ protests and strikes for salary increases were reported in the press and all over the world. Up to now in 2013, teachers’ salaries are still not lucrative. As a result of the FTLRP, most teachers have fled to neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique and some even went overseas in search of greener pastures. This has not only affected farm school teachers but teachers in general as they were facing an insecure future. Moreover, General Comment 13 states that schools are available if there are sufficient teaching materials. Undoubtedly, teaching materials include textbooks, writing boards, and chalks which are indispensable educational resources. In addition, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, provides that facilities such as a library, computer facilities and information technology are also necessary if educational programmes are to be available in sufficient quantities.82 It has been noted that most schools in Zimbabwe lacked libraries, computers and information technology. However, some teaching materials such as textbooks, which were already available at some farm schools and mini libraries that were starting to develop, were destroyed during the FTLRP. This violated the provision of General Comment 13, which requires schools to have sufficient teaching materials.

79

Sachikonye LM (2003) 63. General Comment No 13 para 6 (a). 81 Education in crisis available at http://www.educationincrisis.net/learn-more/ country-profiles/africa/item/495-zimbabwe (accessed on 18 March 2013) 82 General Comment 13 para 6 (a). 80

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Generally, the UNESCO CADE and the ICESCR provide that governments should formulate, develop and apply national policies to encourage education for persons who did not receive primary education or failed to complete their primary education.83 During the FTLRP, both boys and girls dropped out of school because their parents could not afford to send them to school as they had lost their jobs. Some children, especially boys, dropped out as they joined the war veterans, youth and the militia in invading farms. Furthermore, the African Youth Charter encourages that states should ensure that girls and young women who fail to complete their education because of pregnancy or early marriages are afforded another opportunity to complete their education.84 This provision seeks to make education available to girls and women who could not finish their education due to different reasons such as pregnancy, early marriages and poverty. As noted in Chapter 3, some parents lost their jobs and could not afford to pay for their children’s school fees.85 As a result, some girls got pregnant or some entered into early marriages as they were no longer attending school; and some were raped while walking long distances to school. During the land invasions, youths were forced to attend overnight meetings or vigils to show that they supported the ruling party and not oppositional politics. During those meetings some girls were impregnated, hence they had extra responsibility as compared to their male counterparts, and so could not attend school. So, in terms of this provision, the Government of Zimbabwe should take reasonable measures to ensure such women and girls get another opportunity to finish their education. This would make education available to these unfortunate girls and women. According to the Former Special Rapporteur of education, governments should establish schools or fund them as well as allow private individuals to establish schools.86 This provision allows governments to permit both private and public schools so as to ensure that education is available to all children who are supposed to attend primary school.87 It has been noted that during the FTLRP some private schools were closed. As a result, not all children of school-going age were able to access school. More relevant to this study is Guiding Principle 23 which provides that education facilities should also be made available to internally displaced 83

Article 4 (c) of the UNESCO CADE. See also Article 13 (d) of the ICSECR. Article 13 (4) (h) of the African Youth Charter. 85 Article 23 of the UDHR and Article 6 of the ICESCR. 86 Tomasevski K (2001) 13. 87 Tomasevski K (2001) 17. 84

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persons, in particular teenagers, regardless of whether they live in camps or not.88 Similarly, the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons provides that states must provide internally displaced persons with adequate humanitarian assistance, including education, in times of internal crisis.89 During the FTLRP, most families were displaced and lived on squatter camps where there were no educational facilities. No schools were immediately established on those camps. 90 This had a direct impact on the availability of schools to internally displaced children; hence it was a violation of Guiding Principle 23 and the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons which provides that education should be made available to IDPs. It can, therefore, be concluded that the polarised environment that existed during the FTLRP deprived children of their right to education, thereby violating the availability of education to children.

Accessibility of education on Commercial Farms Accessibility to education can either be physical, economic (affordability) or non-discriminatory accessibility to education and the attendant infrastructure.

Physical accessibility on Commercial Farms General Comment 13 provides that schools should be within the safe physical reach of all children. 91 Likewise, if schools are not within the physical reach of children, the former Special Rapporteur has provided that, alternatively, appropriate transport facilities should be organised to transport them from home to school and back. 92 According to a Policy Brief of Zimbabwe, it is recommended that children should not walk a

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Principle 23 (4) of the Guiding Principles on Internally Displaced Persons. Article 2 (b) of the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons. 90 Schools were only re-established after some years when satellite schools were established. 91 General Comment 13 para 6 (b). 92 Tomasevski K (2001) 10. 89

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distance of more than 3 kilometres to the nearest school.93 However, as discussed in Chapter 3, some farm schools were closed because of the FTLRP; hence, most children were left without schools nearby and had to walk up to 30 km to the nearest school without the option of transport.94 Further, no transport arrangements were put in place to ensure that children are transported to their schools as the commercial farm owners had previously done. As a result, some children had a bad perception about attending school and viewed it as a burden upon them.95 In addition, walking long distances has made children vulnerable, especially girls, some of whom were raped on their way to school resulting in unwanted pregnancies.96 As a result, some children had to drop out of school because they lived far away from the schools and had no transport to carry them to school. This, therefore, means that as a result of the FTLRP education has become physically inaccessible to most children. This therefore is clearly a violation of the provision of General Comment 13, which provides that schools should be within the safe reach of children as well as the Education policy of Zimbabwe, which limits the maximum distance that children should walk to the nearest school to 3 kilometres. Moreover, children’s right to be protected from any forms of violence and abuse was also violated. Again on physical accessibility, international standards require states to take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and to reduce school drop-out rates. 97 According to the CRC, governments must encourage regular attendance at schools and aim at reducing drop-out rates. 98 Similarly at regional level states are expected to “take steps to

93 Policy Brief No. 10/2012 of 2012 Local Government and Access to Education for Orphans and Vulnerable Children under Zimbabwe’s National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe (NAP for OVCS). 94 Chronicle ‘Rural pupils disadvantaged’, Sunday 10 February 2013, available at http://www.chronicle.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46 211:rural-pupils-disadvantaged-&catid=39:opinion-aanalysis&Itemid=132#.UX1fF0rLtb4 [Accessed on 28 April 2013] 95 Mutema EP (2012) 102. 96 Chronicle ‘Rural pupils disadvantaged’, Sunday 10 February 2013, available at http://www.chronicle.co.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46 211:rural-pupils-disadvantaged-&catid=39:opinion-aanalysis&Itemid=132#.UX1fF0rLtb4 [Accessed on 28 April 2013] 97 Article 28 (1) (e) of the CRC. 98 Article 28 (1) (e) of the CRC.

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encourage regular school attendance and reduce drop-out rates”. 99 Circumstances surrounding the FTLRP negated this provision, in that the eviction of commercial farmers and their workers resulted in the children of commercial farm workers dropping out of school. In addition, the Education Act of Zimbabwe also obligates parents to ensure that their children attend primary school. 100 However, following the massive job losses during the FTLRP former farm workers (parents) obviously had no means to pay for their children’s school fees. This therefore meant that the FTLRP, as implemented by the Government of Zimbabwe, did not support regular attendance at schools. Rather, it promoted absenteeism and high drop-out rates instead of encouraging regular attendance and reducing drop-outs. This therefore violates Article 28 (1) (e) of the CRC whose thrust is to ensure the physical accessibility of education to children.

Economic accessibility Access to education can also emanate from the prevailing economic conditions. International 101 and regional 102 legal instruments explicitly state that education should be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Education is said to be free where there is no charge to the child, parents or guardians.103 During the FTLRP, the commercial farmers who had previously subsidised the education of their workers’ children were evicted, leaving no one to fund the schools. As a result, parents were supposed to pay school fees for their children to attend the available schools, and so most of those children have dropped out of school as their parents could not afford to pay for their fees. In addition, primary education could not be made compulsory as most children were kept out of school because of financial problems. Economic accessibility also entails the elimination of any direct costs such as expensive uniform and textbooks.104 It has also been noted that houses and property belonging to farm workers were burnt on allegations that they supported oppositional politics, notably the MDC.105 Clearly, this is a 99

Article 13 (4) (c) of the African Youth Charter. Section 5 of the Education Act. 101 Article 26 (1) of the UDHR; Article 13 (1) and (2) of the ICESCR; Article 28 (a) of the CRC and Article 4 (a) of the UNESCO CADE. 102 Article 13 (4) (a) of the African Youth Charter. 103 General Comment 11 para 7. 104 General Comment 11 para 7. 105 Sachikonye (2003) 234. 100

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violation of the right to housing and property. When properties were burnt some children’s school uniforms and textbooks were also burnt in the process. As a result some children were kept out of school, as there was no money at their disposal to buy new school uniforms and textbooks. Fees imposed by the Government, the local authorities or the school, and other direct costs, constitute disincentives to the enjoyment of the right to education and may jeopardize its realization. In addition, according to the UN Committee, any legal and administrative obstacles that hinder children’s access to school should be eliminated. As discussed in Chapter 3, some families’ houses were burnt down or destroyed during the FTLRP; hence, all the documents they had such as birth certificates were also destroyed in the process. When these families relocated in other areas it was difficult for the children to enrol at schools, as they did not have adequate documentation for registration. 106 As a result, such children were kept out of school because their parents did not the have money to go to the Registrar of Births and Deaths to apply for new documents, as they no longer had any source of income. Although there have been no reports about children losing their lives during the FTLRP, some parents lost their lives in the violence, which is in violation of the right to life.107 This also had a direct impact on children’s ability to attend school as they lost their breadwinners. As a result, some of them were left as orphans or living in child-headed households with no one to take care of them.108 Consequently, most children living under such conditions could not afford to pay for their school fees and other costs involved. This violates children’s rights to a family environment, their right to be taken care of by their parents, and this has a direct impact on their right to attend school.109

106

Exploring Africa ‘Module 30: Zimbabwe Teacher’s Edition. Activity three: Expand the Land Question’ available at http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m30/activity3.php (accessed on 5 May 2013) 107 Article 3 of the UDHR. 108 Sachikonye LM (2003) 8. 109 Article 9 of the CRC states that children have a right to live with their parents. Likewise, Article 19 of the ACRWC provides that every child is entitled to the enjoyment of parental care and protection. See also Article 18 of the CRC.

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Non-discrimination General Comment 13 provides that no-one should be discriminated against based on race, colour, ethnicity, sex, language, economic or social status, religion.110 During the FTLRP some children could not access education because of their parent’s economic status. It will be recalled that most farm workers lost their jobs during the FTLRP; hence, they became poor and could not afford to pay for their children’s school fees. Therefore, the education system was discriminatory, as it failed to accommodate every child based on the economic status of the family. In addition, while legal instruments endow the right to education to all regardless of their political affiliation, some children were forced out of school as their families were suspected of supporting the opposition party, MDC. 111 Furthermore, no one was charged under this provision, as there were a lot of such instances which were reported during the FTLRP. This therefore, is a violation of the General Comment 13, which prohibits discrimination in education based on political affiliation. Furthermore, legal instruments urge governments to enact laws and policies that prohibit child labour, early marriages, child trafficking and so on to ensure that education is accessible to all without discrimination.112 The Government should take positive steps to include the most marginalised categories of people into the education system. It was noted that most children who dropped out of school opted to work so as to improve the family income. Some girls were impregnated and some entered into early marriages because they were not attending school. Regardless of the Government of Zimbabwe’s obligation to address gender inequality in land distribution, women, whose land rights under customary law are known to be frail, did not benefit proportionately from the fast track process.113 This also had a direct impact on children’s right to education especially for those with single mothers.114 They did not have

110

General Comment 13 para 6 (b). Reuters ‘Violence seen rising ahead of Zimbabwe polls’ available at http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/april30.html (accessed on 5 May 2013) 112 See Articles 32 to 36 of the CRC; Article 10 of the ICESCR; Articles 15, 27 28 and 29 of the ACRWC. 113 Bhatasara S (2011) 320. 114 Matondi PB & Dekker M ‘Land Rights and Tenure Security in Zimbabwe’s Post Fast Track Land Reform Programme, A Synthesis report for LandAc’ (2011) 24. Also available at 111

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anywhere to stay, as their mothers did not get pieces of land where they could settle and have an education.

Acceptability of Education on Commercial Farms General Comment 13 provides that the content of education, including the curricula, should be acceptable.115 During the FTLRP it was noted that the war veterans, youth and the militia without any educational qualifications took over the teaching of the political history of ZANU-PF and patriotism. As part of their work, they would teach children to chant revolutionary songs which oppose whites, instilling in children the idea that all whites were bad people who took land from the indigenous people. ZANU-PF slogans were also chanted during the lessons to ensure that children consider the ruling party as the only party which is entitled to rule the country in Zimbabwe. The manner in which this was done made the content of education unacceptable and thus a violation of General Comment 13, which provides that education should be acceptable. Acceptability also entails that education should be directed to the full development of personality.116 During the FTLRP, land invaders took over the teaching of certain subjects, but all they taught children was hatred amongst races, creating a negative attitude towards people of other races. They labelled them as bad people, who had made the indigenous people suffer since the colonial era. Hence, children were taught to develop hatred for the whites for all that they did to their ancestors since they entered the country. As a result some school children joined the war veterans and youth militia in committing acts of violence such as beating people, destroying and looting properties. Therefore, this was a violation of the provision that requires education to be directed at the full development of personality.

http://www.landgovernance.org/system/files/Zimbabwe_RuzivoTrust_ASC_0.pdf (accessed 2 May 2013) 115 General Comment 13 para 6 (c). 116 Article 26 (2) of the UDHR; Article 13 (1) of the ICESCR; Article 29 (a) and (b) of the CRC; Article 5 (1) (a) of the UNESCO CADE; Article 11 (2) (a) of the ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (a) of the African Youth Charter.

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In addition, acceptability entails that education should be geared towards strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.117 As stated above, during the FTLRP there was no respect for human rights. Children were taught to take the law into their own hands by committing acts of violence. Violence was instilled in them as the only way of resolving conflicts. They also witnessed gross human rights violations happening to their teachers, parents, relatives and neighbours. As a result, children learnt that human rights can be violated. Undoubtedly, education during the FTLRP period did not strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. That was a clear violation of the legal instruments which say that education should aim to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Furthermore, different legal instruments require that the content of education should promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. 118 These articles of legislation allude to the need for an acceptable form of education. Given the hostile atmosphere that characterised the FTLRP, the programme fell short of the provisions of the international and regional laws which call for the promotion of understanding and tolerance as well as friendship among racial and religious groups. The fact that the FTLRP was directed at white commercial farmers brings in a discriminatory and racial element to the whole process. Children were taught not to tolerate their counter-racial group of whites. In addition, as discussed above, they were taught at school revolutionary songs that incite hostility to whites. Clearly, education during the FTLRP did not promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, and this violated the provisions of the international and regional instruments. Legal instruments establish parents’ prior right to choose the kind of education that should be given to their children.119 As mentioned above, during the FTLRP children were taught politics and that the ruling party was the only party which should rule the county. Parents had no say about 117

Article 26 (2) of the UDHR; Article 13 (1) of the ICESCR; Article 29 (a) and (b) of the CRC; Article 5 (1) (a) of the UNESCO CADE; Article 11 (2) (a) of the ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (a) of the African Youth Charter. 118 Article 26 (2) of the UDHR; Article 13 (1) of the ICESCR; Article 29 (b) and (d) of the CRC and Article 5 (1) (a) of the UNESCO CADE. 119 Article 26 (3) of the UDHR; Article 13 (3) of the ICESCR and Article 5 (b) of the UNESCO CADE.

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the kind of education that was being taught to their children. Consequently, anyone who tried to oppose what was being taught to children was labelled as a supporter of the opposition party, hence an enemy.120 Apart from international instruments, regional instruments go further, to provide that education should be directed at encouraging Africans to freely participate in preserving and strengthening positive African morals, traditional values and cultures. 121 While the international instruments encourage understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, regional instruments such as the ACRWC go further to encourage understanding, tolerance and friendship amongst the ethnic, tribal and religious groups. 122 It was noted that during the FTLRP no understanding, tolerance or friendship was encouraged amongst the ethnic, tribal and religious groups found in Zimbabwe. For example the Ndebele people were labelled as supporters of the opposition. This is because the opposition party MDC was first established in Matabeleland and most people there supported it.123 So by virtue of being a Ndebele speaker or of Ndebele origin people in the Mashonaland province would automatically be labelled as supporters of the opposition party. Children were also caught in between, resulting in some having to quit school as either being Ndebele speakers or of Ndebele origin. Clearly, this violated the provisions which encourage Africans to freely participate in preserving and strengthening positive African morals, traditional values and cultures. In terms of the General Comment 13, acceptability of education also entails that governments must establish minimum standards such as the teacher-pupil ratio, the number of textbooks and the methods of instruction. As a result of the closure of some farm schools, the children went to enrol in the few schools that survived the FTLRP, and hence those schools were overcrowded.124 In addition, some farm school teachers left the farming communities because of assaults and threats, as they were considered to be supporters of the opposition party. This increased the teacher-pupil ratio above what it should be, at 1:40, as schools were faced 120

Mutanda D (2012) 270. Article 17 (2) of the ACHPR; Article 11 (2) (c) of the ACRWC and Article 13 (3) (d) of the African Youth Charter. 122 Article 13 (3) (c) of the African Youth Charter and Article 11 (2) (d) of the ACRWC; 123 This view follows the political history of Zimbabwe. 124 Sachikonye (2003) 17. 121

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with a shortage of teachers.125 However, the situation was made worse by the FTLRP when schools and houses were burnt. This meant that the few textbooks that were available were destroyed; hence, teachers and children were left without any textbooks for teaching and learning purposes. Additionally, the minimum health standards should also be observed at schools to reduce cases of contamination and disease. During the FTLRP it was noted that it became difficult to maintain a certain standard of health. The teacher-pupil ratio was high resulting in teachers being over-worked. The Government itself could not afford to monitor schools to ensure minimum health standards were being observed. As discussed in Chapter 3, health standards deteriorated and most children and their families were affected by infectious diseases such as cholera, malaria and tuberculosis.126

Adaptability of education General Comment 13 provides that education should be flexible so that it can adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the needs of students within their diverse social and cultural settings.127 As has been mentioned in Chapter 3, during the FTLRP the needs of societies and communities changed. There was a need to teach children about their history; however the manner it was done was not proper. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for developing the content of a curriculum that should be taught in school. During the FTLRP it was noted that the war veterans and ZANU-PF would go to schools and teach children or tell teachers what to teach with regard to being sons of the soil (vana wevhu). Clearly, that violated the provisions of General Comment 13, which provides that the content of education should be flexible enough to adjust to the changing needs of societies and communities.128 The ACRWC also provides that education should be directed at promoting the child’s understanding of primary health care. 129 The African Youth Charter also provides that education should be directed at developing life

125

Generally, in most schools there had been a shortage of text books and children had to share textbooks in groups and in some cases learn without any. 126 Masuku A Squatters’ Misery Worsening NewsDay 16 January 2013 3. 127 General Comment 13 para 6 (d). 128 General Comment 13 para 6 (d). 129 Article 11 (2) (h) of the ACRWC.

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skills to function effectively in society.130 In addition the African Youth Charter goes further to explain what primary health care is. It states that it includes, as part of the education curriculum, issues such as HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, prevention of substance abuse, and cultural practices that are harmful to the health of young girls and women.131 As has been discussed in Chapter 3, the FTLRP has resulted in an increase in poverty, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and an increase in drug abuse as males are laid off from jobs and from attending school. However, there is a dire need to ensure children are taught about such issues while they are still at school. In this case the FTLRP has not violated the terms of the African Youth Charter, which provides that such issues should be taught at schools.132 In fact it triggered the need for the Government to ensure that such issues are taught at school. The General Comment 13 also provides that in every issue dealing with children the best interest of the child is paramount. If education is to adapt to the needs of children, their views should be considered. According to the CRC, children should be capable of forming their own views in all matters affecting them, and such views should be given due weight depending on the age and maturity of the child.133 It is clear that during the FTLRP children’s views were not considered, and some just found themselves out of school without knowing why things were happening that way. The fact that the process was unplanned and disregarded all the legal procedures explains it all. Hence, the provisions of General Comment 13 and the CRC were violated as children were not asked for their own views pertaining to the implementation of the FTLRP despite the fact that they were also affected. Furthermore, legal instruments provide that if education is to adapt to children’s needs, it must guarantee them freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression.134 Children should be able to freely express their thoughts, develop and articulate their conscience, and exercise their religion. However, the FTLRP and the teachings they received from the war veterans and the ZANU-PF militia, as well as what was happening, taught them that there is no freedom of expression, thought and conscience: people were not allowed to say what they thought, especially 130

Article 13 (3) (h) of the African Youth Charter. Article 13(3) (h) of the African Youth Charter. 132 Article 13(3) (h) of the African Youth Charter. 133 Article 12(1) of the CRC. 134 Article 14(1) and Article 13 of the CRC. 131

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if it was against the ruling party or its people. Therefore, education during the FTLRP did not guarantee children freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression.

Conclusion From the way the FTLRP was executed, it can be noted that the different legislative provisions on children’s right to education were not considered and their violation was rampant. The violation of other human rights had a direct impact on children’s right to education. Consequently, it follows that the 4-A scheme was disregarded during the FTLRP. On the whole, the practice and legislation that propelled the FTLRP violated children’s right to education and curtailed the elements of the 4As, namely availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability.

CHAPTER SIX THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME RE-VISITED

New evidence has shown that the FTLRP, having taken place from 1999, was a complete failure that exacerbated inequalities in land allocation. The means of production that had been the rallying point at the commencement of the FTLRP had yielded no fruit to the ordinary and landless Zimbabweans. Only a few political heavyweights and their friends had managed to acquire land. This book has sought to provide a follow-up and a revised opinion of how the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) impacted on the lives of the victims of this land reform exercise. The thrust of the book is the overall impact of the FTLRP on former commercial farm workers as well as their children, whose propensity to have a good education was compromised in the process. What started off as a mere political gimmick of mass mobilization by ZANU PF to counter the rising political star of the political opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) degenerated into a fully-fledged dislocation of the white commercial farming community. The haste and swiftness of the unplanned and impulsive land reform process earned it the ‘Fast Track’ moniker. The FTLRP was characterized by pockets of violence, chaos and high levels of politicization. It was in this milieu that unprecedented levels of chaos and violence were witnessed, with cases of brazen biting of both white commercial farmers as well as their workers. Violence of this magnitude cannot be perpetrated on black commercial farm workers without a ripple effect on their families. Firstly the chaotic and violent ‘farm invasions’ compromised the job security of the black commercial farm working community, whose earnings helped them to fend for their families. This included sending their children to school, seeking health services as well as food and clean water and other sanitary conditions. With the hounding of commercial farm workers out of their employment, the livelihoods of their families became further compromised. To establish the extent to which the children’s right to education during the Fast Track Land Reform Programme was either enhanced or

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compromised, an exploration of international, regional and national legislative provisions was given as a normative framework guiding children’s right to education. International best practice on children’s right to education was described, as well as conventions on the right to education in conflict situations. The situation in Zimbabwe during the FTLRP was not akin to that obtaining in conflict zones. However, the exploration of such a situation should not only add value to the discussion at hand but should also provide a resource from which countries undertaking controversial programmes, those that attract as much international attention as the FTLRP, can benefit. At the epicentre of the book is the argument that the FTLRP had an enduring impact on children’s right to education, as well as on other socio-economic needs and entitlements such as the right to food, shelter, water and proper sanitary conditions. A closer analysis of the impact of the FTLRP points to the fact that the victims of the FTLRP, especially those who were of school-going age then, still nurse the scars of the programme more than a decade later. Even their parents still live with the nasty memories of how they lost their sources of livelihoods. The ripple effects of the chaotic and violent FTLRP included a compromised food security, a crippling of commercial farming activities, a threat to the most outstanding means of earning foreign currency, a disbandment and decimation of the once vibrant commercial farming community, and the subsequent migration of farming skills to neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. They even went as far afield as Nigeria, where the former Zimbabwean commercial farmers are famed for making an immense contribution to the economic growth of these countries. On the other hand, the FTLRP contributed to the ballooning of unemployment levels in the country as more than 150 000 former commercial farm workers found themselves without jobs. It has been over a decade since the inception of the FTLRP, but events of the fateful land reform process have lived to haunt the victims, notably the evicted (and emotionally injured) white commercial farmers, black commercial farm workers and most importantly the dependents of the black commercial farm workers. Additionally, the Programme has devastated the country’s agro-based economy and adversely impacted on food security in the country. Permanent scars have remained on the lives of the victims, especially children of farm workers, whose future has been permanently scarred as they have been deprived of education opportunities and chances of a better life. Of note is the fact that much of the labour

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force was of alien extraction, having originated from Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, under a government-to-government agreement cobbled between the Rhodesian Government and the respective African governments. It is therefore not surprising that, in the aftermath of the FTLRP, many such commercial workers tracked back to their countries of origin. However, some of their children, who had married Zimbabweans, were left behind. A few of the former commercial farm workers attempted to benefit from the spoils of the exercise, but these were hounded and victimized by marauding ZANU PF youths. They accused these workers of supporting their former masters, the white farmers, who in turn were perceived to be bankrolling the opposition MDC. What is nauseating was the high level of disobedience as ZANU PF supporters perpetrated violence with reckless abandon, even in front of law enforcement agents, who alleged that their hands were tied and that they would not get involved since this was political. Even some police and military details were known to renege on their constitutional duty of protecting citizens. In fact most of the security personnel, especially those in the higher echelons, took part in the FTLRP with reckless abandon, leaving no one to maintain peace and order in the process. The most dire consequences of this pandemonium were directed at the defenceless children of black commercial farm workers. Their education was disrupted as school infrastructure on commercial farms was either vandalized or expropriated by the new owner of the farm. Most beneficiaries to whom commercial farms were allocated did not prioritise or consider the children of farm workers’ right to education. As a result, existing infrastructure was either closed down or left to vandalism to take its toll. The few schools that later came up were situated in tobacco barns and are purportedly serving the educational needs of the beneficiaries of FTLRP, most of whom are supporters of ZANU PF. It has been noted that children whose parents had moved to new areas were missing classes because they sometimes faced walks of twenty-five kilometres or more to school (Human Rights Watch, 2004). It has further emerged that even those who have remained have faced problems in securing education for their children, since many teachers have been driven away from their schools by ZANU-PF militia on suspicion of being MDC supporters (Human Rights Watch, 2004). The fate of children of former commercial workers remains unknown, except for a few confirmed cases of those whose parents relocated back to

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their countries of origin, mostly to Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The primary and causal crime that the former white commercial farm workers are alleged to have committed was the perceived support that they are accused of having rendered to their white commercial farm masters, who in turn are accused of bankrolling the MDC. While the turf wars raged between the MDC and its supporters, white commercial farmers found themselves caught in the crossfire. Most notably, the coincidental victimisation of former commercial farm workers and their families will always remain a grey area in the FTLRP. Reports of former commercial farmers once evicted being re-engaged as farm ‘managers’ is a clear indication and confirmation of the failure of the FTLRP. It is also an acceptance by those who were behind the land reform that they made mistakes, especially in the operational stages of the exercise.

Interrogating Literature on the Aftermath of the FTLRP The aftermath of the FTLRP presents a sad picture of a farming sector that used to be the backbone of the country’s economy. Additionally, the commercial sector contributed to employment creation and improved livelihoods for commercial farm workers and their families. Social services provided by commercial farms in conjunction with Rural District Councils (RDCs) were comparable to those in most urban areas. RDCs also identified Large Scale Commercial Farms (LSCFs) as a source of revenue, since payments from such farms boosted the RDCs’ revenue base. Sam Moyo in his paper entitled “A Review of Zimbabwean Agricultural Sector following the Implementation of the Land Reform: Overall Impacts of Fast Track Land Reform Programme (2004) deliberates on the aftermath of the FTLRP. Under the sub-title Vulnerable Groups (p 24), Moyo identifies children (together with women) as one of the vulnerable groups who suffered the gauntlet of the FTLRP and who became victims of shrinking food security (p22). While it can be noted that a proportion of former farm workers already had access to land in the communal areas, most of them had known no other home except the commercial farms where they had been employed. Moreover their children had also known no home (or school) other than at the farms. This sudden change of circumstances did not auger well with the farm workers, whose prospects outside the farms where they were employed portrayed a bleak picture. This implied that the former workers

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and their families were now more concerned with their capability to sustain their livelihoods. Research by Sachikonye (2006) noted that, out of desperation, about 25% of the former farm workers have relocated to the communal areas. What this suggests is that a number of former farm workers remain without land rights and/or live with insecure land tenure arrangements wherever they are, as employees or re-locatees (Moyo, 2004). Also, there exists an overlap between access to land in the communal areas and in the new resettlement areas, since some of those former farm workers who initially relocated registered for land through their traditional chiefs and got it. Research (Save the Children Fund and FTCZ Report, 2002; Sachikonye, 2003; Moyo, 2004) has also indicated that access to social services among the former farm workers and their families has further deteriorated as a result of the FTLRP, especially among those who have been displaced. This desperate lack of social services was a result of the eviction of the resource-endowed former white farmers who had contributed substantially to the provision of social services for their workers and their families. Additionally, Rural District Councils became victim to the after-effects of the FTLRP, since they became incapacitated by the absence of taxes from the LSCF sector, since new farmers were not yet paying these taxes. Without sufficient tax base, RDCs would find it difficult to provide social services as efficient as during the pre-FTLRP period. This meant that RDCs could no longer provide education and health services to children of former commercial farm workers. A study undertaken by Sachikonye and Zishiri (1999) found out that schooling rates had always been lowest in the farm worker community, even before the FTLRP; but by 1997 only 59% of the children of farm workers attended primary school compared to 79% and 89% in the communal and urban areas respectively (Sachikonye and Zishiri, 1999). Schooling rates have worsened since the FTLRP as there is an estimated primary school dropout rate ranging from 15% to 55% in Manicaland (Sachikonye, 2003). The research attributed failure to pay fees as the major reason for dropping out of school, given that the breadwinners lost their jobs on commercial farms, in addition to cases where schools were located very far away from their new residential places at the next farm. This is the case because some of these farms were abnormally large and the distance between one farm and the next was equally long. Closely associated with failure by farm workers to pay fees for their children is job losses emanating from the FTLRP. In a report entitled “The Situation of Commercial Farm Workers after Land Reform in Zimbabwe” Sachikonye (2003) has concluded that the FTLRP culminated in massive job losses - affecting about 70 per cent of the

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original farm workforce. The loss of permanent worker status on farms was widespread, with both the newly resettled small farmers and 'new' large commercial farmers showing a lack of financial resources and production capacity and therefore an inability to absorb the former permanent workers (Sachikonye, 2003). Access to health is another condition that enables children to realise their right to education without hindrance. During the FTLRP, health services and other community support systems that former employers provided have also tended to be disrupted by the FTLRP. A study undertaken by the FTCZ in 2002 found out that in 2002 the level of basic primary health care had decreased among farm worker households. For example, 42% of the mothers knew how to prepare a sugar and salt solution used to treat diarrhoea, a decline from rates of above 60% in the late 1980s (FTCZ, 2002). The provision of social services to farm workers remains part of an ongoing effort by the Government of Zimbabwe. However, economic challenges bedevilling the country as well as the inherent limited capacity of the Government to provide social services have resulted in the NGO sector being brought in to augment government efforts in this regard. The current crop of farm workers are amongst the poorest, making them the most vulnerable to the effects of HIV/AIDS, the least food secure and the least educated and healthy. This low social status of the current crop of farm workers has compromised their capacity to send their children to school, especially given that the current beneficiaries of the FTLRP are mostly powerful politicians most of whom do not possess the necessary skills in farming. This lack of skill in farming has led to low investments in agriculture by some of the beneficiaries of the FTLRP. Many scholars (Marongwe, 2004; Scoones et al 2011; Moyo, 2010) have written about food security in the aftermath of the FTLPRP. Food security can be defined in terms of three dimensions: food availability, food access, and utilisation. According to Young and Jaspars (1995), cited in Dabale (2014), food availability is a situation whereby food is physically available as a result of local production, processing, or importation; for example, if food is available in the markets and shops, if it is being produced on local farms or is available as part of food aid. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO, 1983), food security is a multifaceted concept, variously defined and interpreted. At one end of the spectrum, food security implies the availability of adequate supplies of food at a global and national level while at the other end it is concerned

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with adequate nutrition and well-being. Sen (2000) cited in Dabale et al (2014) noted that food availability can be affected by disruptions to the food transport and production systems, due to blocked roads, failed crops or changes in import and export tariffs, amongst other factors. Zikhali (2008) bemoans the replacement of mostly experienced farmers with inexperienced farmers who were subsistence oriented. This compromised food security and jeopardised the livelihoods of former commercial farm workers more than other victims, because these people depended on farming activities on the commercial farms where they worked. All these events and development and the subsequent compromise of food security had an enduring effect on children and compromised their propensity to attain an education. The right to sufficient food, especially for children, is a pre-requisite to the attainment of an education. However, several recommendations are provided to enhance children’s right to education, given the debilitating impact of the FTLRP on the realisation of children’s right to education.

CHAPTER SEVEN THE ENDURING LEGACY OF THE FTLRP ON CHILDREN OF BLACK FORMER COMMERCIAL FARM WORKERS

The authors of this book have come up with a catalogue of generic characteristics that are continuously haunting the children of former commercial black workers from the moment their parents’ employment opportunities were blown up into the air for ever, on that day when marauding ZANU PF ‘war vets’, supporters of the former liberation movement, and an array of opportunists who graced the rank-and-file of the rowdy ‘farm-invaders’ arrived on their lands. Sachikonye (2004) in his report entitled “The Situation of Commercial Farm Workers after Land Reform in Zimbabwe” noted that: Prior to land reform, an estimated 320,000 to 350,000 farm workers were employed on commercial farms owned by about 4,500 white farmers. Their dependants numbered between 1.8 and 2 million (nearly 20 per cent of the country's population).

The focus of this book is on the former commercial workers’ dependents, mostly children, who according to Sachikonye (2004) may have numbered between 1.8 and 2 million. This was such a significant portion of the Zimbabwean population then. It is also of importance to mention that one cannot easily throw away such a significant part of the population. Hence the authors of this book have seen it necessary to attempt to highlight their plight in the aftermath of the FTLRP. Among the most common circumstances being endured by the children of former black commercial farm workers are: deprivation of the right to education, facing an uncertain future, the emergence of child-headed families, division and separation of families, and the transformation of commercial farms from peaceful places to criminally-infested places characterized by poaching, looting and vandalism of farm property.

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Deprivation of the Right to Education One of the most disturbing consequences in the aftermath of the FTLRP for children of former commercial workers was the victimization of their parents, a misadventure which has lived to haunt their memories. Coupled with this victimization was the eviction of their parents from the farms. But most sorrowful of all was the fact that they were going to miss the opportunity to acquire an education, irrespective of the rudimentary status of the education. Once evicted from the commercial farms, it became a fearful reality that the now unemployed parents could not afford to send these children to school again, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Uncertain Future and Change of Environment Once evicted from the only employment that most black commercial farm workers had known, they were faced with an uncertain future. With most of the evicted commercial black workers having been of alien extraction, they trekked back to their countries of origin. Those whose children had married (at such a tender age) left them behind, sparking a wave of emotional separation of family members. Hounded out of school by the chaos and violence that characterized the FTLRP, some of the girl children joined in the furore of early marriages. Male children trooped with their parents to their ‘home’ countries, which they had never known, exposing them to a completely new environment with very limited or no chances of pursuing their education.

Child-headed Families The aftermath of the FTLRP had an enduring impact on the lives and livelihoods of children of black commercial workers. The violence, mayhem and chaos that characterized the FTLRP claimed some lives, with some black commercial farm workers having sustained injuries as they sought to protect their masters. There were also incidences of the death of some of these workers as they came face to face with armed marauding ‘war vets’, youths and other violent elements. Additionally, other causes of death included hypertension, stress and tension, given the poor prospects of having a reliable means of eking out a living. The sudden eviction from employment and the mental burden that was bestowed upon individuals were too much to bear. This scenario left children with one

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parent, rendering them orphans at such a tender age. This created yet another problem, that of child-headed families.

Divided Families The FTLRP can also be blamed for separating families that had lived in harmony prior to the FTLRP. The division of families happened because most commercial farm workers had come from neighbouring countries. Upon marriage, especially for the girl child, they were left behind when their parents returned to their host countries, mainly to Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique. This trend tended to divide families and can be attributed to the after-effects of the land reform programme, especially the FTLRP. It has since emerged that most such children left behind by their parents have lost contact with them. If they are still in contact, it has proved difficult to visit, especially due to the economic challenges bedevilling most people in the country.

Rogue elements among remnants of children of the FTLRP Commercial farms have always been known to be peaceful places since the commercial farmers had in place adequate security features around the farms. From the moment the farms were occupied by the new beneficiaries, security lapses were experienced. Farms that had kept wildlife were vandalized, with poaching becoming commonplace. Poaching deprived the economy of the much-needed foreign currency. As a result, criminality became widespread within commercial farming communities. The violence experienced by the children of former commercial farm workers moulded some of them into criminal elements, taking their cue from their encounter with violent episodes during the farm invasion.

The re-emergence of former white commercial farmers One of the most controversial aspects of the FTLRP has been the reemergence in the aftermath of the former white commercial farmers on the farms from where they were once evicted. This development begs the question as to why they were evicted in the first place. This time around, the once-evicted white commercial farmers are said to have been engaged as “farm managers” and in some cases as “technical advisors” to the indigenous beneficiaries of the FTLRP, who in most cases are powerful

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and influential politicians who rarely have the time to engage in farming activities on their newly-acquired farms. This re-appearance of former white commercial farmers comes hard on the heels of decreasing agricultural production and increased maize imports. The major reason for clandestinely inviting back the evicted white commercial farmers has been their success story in agriculture, mostly in neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique. They also went as far afield as Nigeria, where they were given vast tracts of fertile land for agricultural purposes and where they are reported to have produced surpluses for importation, mostly to Zimbabwe. Back in Zimbabwe, in addition to poor yields due mostly to lack of resources and expertise, the new farmers have not created adequate employment opportunities, and this has had a negative impact on unemployment levels and the sustainability of livelihoods. This, in turn, has negatively impacted on former commercial workers’ ability to provide for their families, with children being the most casualties. It can therefore be argued that the invitation extended to the former white commercial farmers to act as “farm managers” or technical advisors is an open admission by some FTLRP beneficiaries that the former were better farmers: they did not only hold the propensity to produce enough for the country, but could also provide other social services for the welfare of their workforce and their families, without going to the extent of converting tobacco barns into classrooms. The re-appearance of the former commercial farmers on farms has also provided a platform for a comparative analysis: how does the provision of social services like education and health under the beneficiaries of the FTLRP compare with how it was during the tenure of white commercial farmers?

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