Zimbabwe is suffering because lawlessness has become normal under ZANU PF rule. In mining areas, chaos is now common. Gold is looted, operations are disrupted, and violence is allowed to happen. This kind of environment scares away serious investors. Modern mining needs heavy money, long planning, and strong law protection. But when rules are ignored, no serious business can survive. Instead of development, we get disorder and loss.
This lawlessness is happening at the same time as new laws are being introduced. The Mines and Minerals Bill of 2025 is said to regulate mining titles. At the same time, the government wants a 26 percent free share in new mining ventures. On paper, this may sound like progress. But in reality, no law can work when the state itself does not respect the law. Investors see this clearly and stay away.
The real problem did not start today. It goes back to the year 2000 during the fast-track land reform programme. White-owned commercial farms were taken without compensation. Court rulings were ignored. Legal protections were destroyed. The government chose power over justice. This was the beginning of a dangerous culture of impunity that still controls Zimbabwe today.
More than 4000 commercial farms were violently seized. Families were pushed out. Workers lost jobs. The law was treated as useless paper. Title deeds became meaningless. Banks could no longer accept land as security for loans. Farmers could not borrow money. Production collapsed. Hunger increased. The economy fell apart.
The government ignored Supreme Court rulings that declared land seizures illegal. Instead of fixing mistakes, it changed the Constitution. Courts were blocked from hearing land cases. Justice was locked out by political force. This practice did not end. It simply changed form. Even today, laws are bent to protect those in power.
Zimbabwe moved from the rule of law to the rule of man. Political connections now decide who owns land and who does not. Communities live in fear of dispossession. Property rights are no longer protected. This uncertainty affects every sector, not just farming. Mining, manufacturing, and services all suffer.
Agriculture has been badly damaged. Many land reform beneficiaries do not have capital. They also do not have secure tenure. Without security, no one invests in irrigation, machinery, or buildings. Farms remain idle or poorly used. A country that once fed the region now struggles to feed itself.
The government talks about compensation and has mentioned a US$3.5 billion plan. But this does not fix the deeper problem. The legal system is still weak. Property can still be taken by the state at any time. Investors know this. Both local and foreign investors fear sudden and unfair seizure.
ZANU PF has created a system where laws serve political elites, not the people. Until property rights are respected and courts are allowed to function freely, Zimbabwe will remain poor. Development cannot grow in fear. Investment cannot come where theft is legal. Our future is being destroyed by leaders who refuse to respect the law.
As citizens, we must speak out. Silence is surrender. Zimbabwe deserves justice, safety, and real rule of law, not empty promises and broken systems.