Introduction

This book explores the outcomes of Zimbabwe's Fast Track Land Reform Program (FTLRP) which commenced in 2000. It pays particular attention to the changing dynamics of rural livelihoods occasioned by the land reform. The book is a result of a doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Edinburgh in 2013 and follow-up fieldwork as part of ongoing research on the interface of land and agrarian reform, extractives and rural livelihoods in Mhondoro Ngezi in central Zimbabwe. Since 2010 when fieldwork for the data utilized in this book was undertaken, there have been many developments in Zimbabwe which need to be captured in order to provide a more recent picture of the outcomes of Zimbabwe's FTLRP. A major development which took place recently was the ouster of Zimbabwe's late former president, Robert Mugabe, by a military assisted coup in late 2017. While his removal was celebrated by the majority of Zimbabweans, such celebrations seem to have been ‘too early’ as the economic situation has worsened under the leadership of Emmerson Mnangagwa. The situation is characterized by the widespread shortage of fuel and frequent electricity outages which have crippled industry, leading many people to question the leadership of Emmerson Mnangagwa and his so-called new dispensation.

The dramatic removal of Robert Mugabe has ushered in a new trajectory in the politics of land. Zimbabwe's newly elected president, Mnangagwa, has sought to distance himself from Mugabe's radical policies in favour of appeasing Western countries which had imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in response to the seizure and redistribution of white-owned farmlands. Since assuming power after the harmonized elections of July 2018, Mnangagwa has reversed many Mugabe-era policies such as the indigenization and local empowerment regulations which, among other things, compelled foreign-owned companies to give a 51 per cent controlling stake to indigenous Zimbabweans. These policies were viewed by Western countries as antagonistic to foreign direct investment (FDI). Furthermore, the new government has adopted a more liberal agrarian policy, with promises to compensate former white farmers who lost their land during the implementation of the fast track land reforms in 2000. In addition, the new government has also promised to undertake a land audit in order to address distortions in the land ownership structure.