'Loyal' Zimbabwean soldiers given farms

The Zimbabwe National Army has offered farms and land to all serving soldiers in exchange for their support and loyalty to President Robert Mugabe in next year's presidential election.

Land requests by soldiers will be separated from those of civilians and will be given priority, in a policy aimed at promoting black commercial farmers. The army's internal task force, headed by Brigadier Daniel Nyikaramba, is handling applications by soldiers interested in the land offers.

A budget is being drawn up to help to resettle soldiers on their repossessed land and to help them to buy the necessary inputs to start farming, The Financial Gazettereports. Soldiers will be allocated mainly plots on sub-divided farms, but some top-rank officers who do not own land have been offered bigger farms.

A few months ago, the army decided to give the first preference of jobs in the military to children of soldiers and independence war veterans. And sources say the soldiers are to be given special bonuses this year ahead of civil servants.

One officer, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have been told we [the soldiers] are the people who fought for the land and we should get the first preference for plots and farms ahead of everyone else. The army will also help to resettle us and I must say most of our members are extremely happy about this move and have submitted their applications."

* Zimbabwe's consumer price index rose by a record 97.9 per cent in the year to October, after increasing 86.3 per cent in September, figures from the Central Statistical Office showed yesterday. Analysts say inflation could exceed 100 per cent by the end of the year.