THE WIDER VISION OF SOCIAL POLICY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSFORMATIVE ROLE OF THE FAST TRACK LAND REFORM PROGRAMME IN ZVIMBA DISTRICT (ZIMBABWE) by TOM TOM Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY In the subject SOCIOLOGY At the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR JIMI O. ADESINA APRIL 2020 Declaration I declare that the thesis is my own work, based on original research, and has not been submitted elsewhere for another award. The secondary sources consulted have been acknowledged by way of references. The Government of Zimbabwe granted permission through the relevant ministries, to access and reside in Zvimba district for data collection. Signed: Date: 20/04/2020 Tom Tom This thesis was submitted for examination with my approval. Signed: Date: 20/04/2020 Supervisor: Professor Jimi Adesina ii Dedication Felistas Ngombe, my wife. Lestencia Nyasha, Taombekwa and Rukudzo Mazvitaishe, my daughters. i Acknowledgements I honour my supervisor/promoter Professor Jimi Adesina (DST/NRF SARChI Chair in Social Policy), for the intellectual and professional guidance throughout the phases of the doctoral studies. Without such principal and towering support, this contribution to knowledge would not have succeeded. I am also grateful for the financial support provided by the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) - Chair in Social Policy. The project would not have been achieved without the SARChI funding. I also thank my colleagues of the Zimbabwe land reform cohort at the Chair: Clement Chipenda, Musavengana Winston Theodore Chibwana and Newman Tekwa for constructive criticism, encouragement and sharing of field experiences. I also acknowledge the intellectual support provided by other colleagues at the SARChI Chair – Ashley Sarimana, Kola Omomowo, Oluranti Samuel, Austin Omoruan, Marion Ouma, Kim Usher, Kafui Tsepko, Mitchell Peens, Affiz Lawal, Sivuyisiwe Wonci, Kehinde Omotosho and Christal Spel Babalwa. To Ms. Bridget Ngobeni and Ipeleng Chauke, thank you for the administrative support at the SARChI Chair in Social Policy. You made my stay at the Chair pleasant. I also benefited tremendously from Professor Sam Moyo, the late Executive Director of the African Institute for Agrarian Studies (AIAS), now Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies (SMAIAS), through extraordinaire insights and guidance in land and agrarian reform. I am also indebted to colleagues at SMAIAS – Dr. Walter Chambati (Acting Executive Director), Dr. Freedom Mazwi and Rangarirai Gavin Muchetu for the inspirational discussions on Zimbabwe’s land reforms. Mr. Charles Munyanyi and Ms. Malieta Kagura, and your team, I thank you for guiding me throughout my fieldwork in Zvimba district. My special acknowledgement goes to the ii Zvimba farming community for sharing with me their lived experiences and situated meanings of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme as a social policy instrument. May your lives be transformed through appropriate use of land and effective government policy in the agricultural sector. I am grateful to the University Council of the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) for affording me study leave to pursue doctoral studies. Such time was utilised for a good cause. My sincere acknowledgement also goes to the staff in the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at the Zimbabwe Open University for inspiring me throughout the doctoral studies. These include, but are not limited to: Professor T. M. Kaputa (Dean), Shephard Mutsau, Edna Billiat, Kwaedza Kaseke, Tobias Guzura, Didmus Dewa, Wisdom Moyo, Professor Maxwell Constantine Chando Musingafi, the late Dr. Dick Ranga, Dr. Emmanuel Munemo, Professor Lincoln Hlatywayo, Professor Phillipah Mutswanga, Professor Barbra Mapuranga, Leonard Mpezeni, Dr. Esther Gandari, Andrew Mukono, Edith Karimanzira, Godffrey Tsvuura, Kudzai Chiwanza, Collen Chikowe, Caroline Mutara, Daniel Mrewa, Teurai Chiriseri, Masiiwa Jojo, Moddie Nhimura, Barbra Garura and Chipo Muuya. Special acknowledgement to my wife, Felistas Ngombe and my daughters (Lestencia Nyasha, Taombekwa and Rukudzo Mazvitaishe) for insights and inspiration. Above all, I thank the Almighty Lord God for life, health and the will to achieve. iii List of Acronyms AAPG All Africa Parliamentary Group AGRITEX Agricultural , Technical and Extension Services AIAS African Institute for Agrarian Studies AIDS Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome AKTIS Agriculture, Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Systems AR Agrarian Reform ARDA Agriculture and Rural Development Authority AREX Department of Agriculture and Rural Extension BIPPA Bilateral Promotion and Protection Agreement CA Communal Area CAADP Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme CAIS Command Agriculture Inputs Scheme CBO Community Based Organisation CFSS Commercial Farm Settlement Scheme CF Contract Farming CFU Commercial Farmers Union COTTCO Cotton Company of Zimbabwe CSO Central Statistical Office/ Civil Society Organisation DA District Administrator DAC District AIDS Committee DAEO District Agricultural Extension Officer DCC District Co-ordinating Committee DDF District Development Fund DLC District Lands Committee DLIC District Land Identification Committee EIRR Economic Internal Rate of Return EMA Environmental Management Agency ESAP Economic Structural Adjustment Programme FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations FCTZ Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe FGD Focus Group Discussion FLIs Farm Level Institutions FNSP Food and Nutrition Security Policy FTFs Fast Track Farms FTLR Fast Track Land Reform FTLRP Fast Track Land Reform Programme GAPWUZ General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GMB Grain Marketing Board GoZ Government of Zimbabwe GPA Global Political Agreement Ha Hectare HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus IAPRI International Agricultural Policy Research Institute ICA Intensive Conservation Area IDS Institute of Development Studies INGO International Non-Governmental Organisation iv JAG Justice for Agriculture LC Land Commission LCA Land Commission Act LCB Land Commission Bill LRRP Land Reform and Resettlement Programme LLA Land Acquisition Act LSCF Large Scale Commercial Farm MDC Movement for Democratic Change MDC-A Movement for Democratic Change (Alliance) MA1 Model A1 MA2 Model A2 MLRR Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement NAC National AIDS Council NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NR Natural Region NRAs New Resettlement Areas ORAs Old Resettlement Areas OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PF ZAPU Zimbabwe African People’s Union Patriotic Front PLIC Provincial Land Identification Committee RBZ Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe RCZ Research Council of Zimbabwe RDC Rural District Council SADC Southern Africa Development Community SAFIRE Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources SIRDC Scientific Industrial Research and Documentation Centre SMAIAS Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences SSCF Small Scale Commercial Farm TCAS Targeted Command Agriculture Scheme TIMB Tobacco Industrial Board TSP Transformative Social Policy TTL Tribal Trust Land UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme VIDCO Village Development Committee WAC Ward AIDS Committee WB World Bank WADCO Ward Development Committee ZAIP Zimbabwe Agricultural Investment Plan ZANU PF Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front ZCAPF Zimbabwe Comprehensive Agricultural Policy Framework ZESA Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Company ZFU Zimbabwe Farmers Union ZIDERA Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act ZIJRI Zimbabwe Joint Resettlement Initiative ZIMASSET Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation ZIMSTAT Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency ZNA Zimbabwe National Army ZNAPF Zimbabwe National Agricultural Policy Framework v ZNFU Zimbabwe National Farmers Union ZRDC Zvimba Rural District Council ZRP Zimbabwe Republic Police vi Abstract The thesis focuses on the social policy dimension of Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). Interrogating land reform in the context of Transformative Social Policy (TSP) is a critical lacuna in Zimbabwe’s land reform and dominant social policy literature, implying the absence of a wider vision of social policy. This vision emphasises the consideration of the five tasks of social policy (production, redistribution, reproduction, protection and social cohesion); and acknowledges the symbiotic link between social policy and development. The thesis asks, how did the FTLRP and land occupations unfold; what is the new agrarian structure and, forms of social organisation in the aftermath of the fast track land reform; and how has the programme played out in relation to redistribution, production, social protection, reproduction and social cohesion? The thesis is based on a qualitative- dominant mixed methods research approach, and is complemented by predominantly quantitative data gathered by the African Institute for Agrarian Studies (AIAS), now Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies (SMAIAS); and a sample of 150 A1 land beneficiaries drawn from Dalkeith, Whynhill and St Lucia Farms. Using grounded empirical data gathered in an eight (8) months-long ethnography in Zvimba district, Mashonaland West Province; and transcending ideological and epistemological debates, the thesis argues that, despite shortcomings, the fast track land reform is a crucial social policy ‘instrument’ with immense potential to transform lives. Across the district, land is a core economic,