Zimbabwe to Nationalize Farmland

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com 06/10/2004

Zimbabwe's government announced today that all farmland will be nationalized and private land ownership abolished. Land reform minister John Nkomo said that all land, including more than 5,000 former white-owned farms that were handed over to blacks, will become state-owned and subject to state-issued leases. Nkomo says plans are under way to abolish title deeds and replace them with 99-year-long leases. The government's latest move comes because production of tobacco, the country's most profitable agricultural commodity, has dropped dramatically since violent farm seizures began in 2000. Since then, newly settled farmers have lacked tobacco production know-how and supplies, while skilled farmers have successfully been migrating to neighboring countries such as Zambia and Mozambique to set up shop. Sam Moyo, a Harare-based land expert, said, "The announcement is not as dramatic as it sounds, especially since the government had already begun a comprehensive program of expropriating almost all privately-held land. It was inevitable that the state would pursue widespread nationalism as it underpins the current land reform policy." Enditem 20. South Africa withdraws duty-free tobacco ban proposal tobaccoreporter.com The South African department of health announced that it will not pursue its proposal to ban duty-free sales of tobacco as part of its Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill 2004. The announcement follows discussions between the department of health and members of the South African Duty Free Working Group and other interested parties. Officials commented that while the department is still opposed to the availability of "cheap tobacco" in duty-free, the complexity of the industry required further consideration. Officials also stated that there are lessons to be learned in working together with industry stakeholders over the next two to three years toward the department's goal of eliminating price differentials on the domestic market. The industry has been invited to participate in a forum that will be set up by the department of health in the coming months to consider the issues associated with the continued retailing of duty-free tobacco products in South Africa. Keith Spinks, director-general of the International Travel Retail Confederation, commented that while the decision to withdraw the proposed ban could be considered a significant achievement for the industry, there is still considerable work to be done by the local industry in providing government officials with a full appreciation of the duty-free trade and in addressing a number of issues raised by the department of health relating to the merchandising of tobacco in duty-free. It is expected that South Africa's tobacco bill will now move forward in the legislative process, without the duty-free tobacco ban clause, for implementation in early 2005. Enditem