"Land reform programme in Zimbabwe"

The colonial conquest of the country by the British in the late 1880s destroyed these systems and subordinated the African people in both political and economic terms. Economic subordination started by the passing of the Land Apportionment Act in 1930, which formalised racial separation of land. Africans lost their coveted land and substantial economic power as they were driven to marginal areas with inherently poor soils and erratic rainfall. Although farming was part of their livelihoods and the sole source of food and income, a series of repressive legislation prohibited them from participating on the mainstream of the economy. This, apparently led the disgruntled majority blacks to take arms and fight a protracted war against the injustices. In 1980, they won political independence and the new ZANU PF government promised the empowerment of the people by giving them land. A policy tool identified for this purpose was the land redistribution and resettlement programme.

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