§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money has been given by the United Kingdom to the Zimbabwean Government as support of their Land Acquisition Act 1991; and for what reason the United Kingdom ceased making payments in support of the Land Acquisition Act 1991. [42697]
§ Clare ShortThe Land Act 1992; which allowed compulsory land purchase for resettlement after the expiry of a 10-year constitutional limitation to the acquisition of agricultural land from willing sellers; was not in itself an obstacle to UK funding for land reform. The UK Government spent £44 million on the Land Reform and Resettlement Programme Phase 1 between 1981 and 1996.
The UK and other donors made clear their willingness to support transparent land reform that took full account of the needs of poor Zimbabweans since 1996. This failed to find favour with the Zimbabwe Government. The Land Reform and Resettlement Programme Phase 2 proposed in 1998 was not supported by the UK as it has not been 899W implemented in a transparent, fair, orderly, or sustainable manner. It has not attracted support from the international community for the same reasons.