The British government is set to come under pressure to lead the way in Europe, by not sending developmental aid to the coalition government until the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement.

UK based protest group The Vigil last week sent a letter to the International Development Committee of the British Parliament, which is to review the British government's aid to Zimbabwe.

The Vigil's spokesman, Dennis Benton, explained that the government would be setting the wrong precedent by 'prematurely' handing over developmental aid to Zimbabwe, where there is no evidence of any real change.

"We believe, in particular, that to give development aid to the coalition government is premature and will send the wrong signals not only to Mugabe and his ZANU PF party but also to members of the European Union and other countries which have adopted measures against Zimbabwe," Benton explained

The Vigil is also running a petition as added weight to the pressure it is putting on the UK government. The petition reads: "We welcome the UK's humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe but call on the UK government to withhold development aid until it is confident that the money will benefit the people rather than the corrupt Mugabe regime."

The Vigil's call echoes other concerns about the backward measures being adopted to start rebuilding the country that is fundamentally still in the hands of an oppressive, greedy regime. The land situation is a prime example of the mentality being applied, as more money is being thrown at the flailing agricultural sector, in the guise of assistance to 'new' farmers, at the same time that land invasions are on the rise.

There is justifiable concern that beneficiaries of Mugabe's chaotic and bloody land grab campaign will now further benefit from receiving aid. No comprehensive, independent land audit has yet taken place, and there is no precise record of which farmers are truly entitled to financial grants. The president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) Deon Theron explained that group's like USAID need to carefully examine who is receiving aid, to prevent them directly "rewarding those people who have illegally grabbed land from deserving farmers."

Most recently, a South African farming family, meant to be protected by both regional law and a bilateral investment protection agreement, were forced to flee their farm in Rusape last week. Dolf du Toit and his family left the property after more than a week of violence and intimidation. They became the third farming family in the area to be forced off their land in the same number of weeks. The Du Toits eviction from their property also came mere weeks after South Africa and Zimbabwe signed an investment pact that is already proving to be worth little.

An official from the Ministry of Lands in Mutare said the invasion of Fangundu Farm was unlikely to be reversed despite the court ruling.

"That ruling is just a piece of paper," the official told the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper. "Almost every new farmer in that area has been served with court orders so there is nothing that Chimonyo can be afraid of."

The comments are indicative of the blatant lawlessness in the country, and court rulings regarding land have done nothing to protect farms against invasion, attack and forced eviction.

By SW radio