Veterans of the independence war, who have expected land since the war ended in l980, are frustrated by the slow pace of land reform and have even threatened to take over the country if the opposition wins the election. Chabvonga insists the vets could not accomplish a takeover. Some white farmers have obtained agreements with the government to sell their farms, only to have the government renege for lack of funds. The opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, has charged that the government has granted long-term leases to ruling party officials for 272 farms totalling a million acres last year. They are also concerned that agriculture, the strongest sector in the economy, might be disabled by inexperienced farmers taking over precipitously, further exacerbating Zimbabwe's dismal economic situation.
Critics also say that the Zimbabwe government needs to institute a rural development program.
May Lead to More Press Freedom Recent strides toward democratic rule in Africa have been marred by oppressive treatment of the press. Journalists have been murdered, jailed or their files seized even in the new democracies. Observers of press freedom say they are confident things are improving overall and that the arrival of the Internet will accelerate the free flow of information, promote commerce and make government censorship and intimidation of the press a gratuitous exercise. No government can censor information of a World Wide Web accessible throughout a country. Last May a report suppressed by the Zimbabwe government about atrocities committed by the army in Matabeleland in the early 1980s, went onto the web after President Robert Mugabe prevented its publication in the newspapers.