Effects of the Land Apportionment Act

African homestead in Rhodesia

• Africans lost their land, and inheritance from their ancestors
• It brewed hatred between Europeans and Africans which continued till the Second Chimurenga
• It divided the country into three farming areas
• Europeans began to occupy a large chunk of Zimbabwean land as compared to blacks yet they were fewer than blacks, e.g 50 000 whites owned 49 149 174 acres as opposed to 1 810 000 Zimbabweans who had 21 127 040 acres
• Africans became poor because they lost productive lands and could not provide for themselves
• The number of Africans working for European increased and wages got reduced
• Africans were resettled in reserves which soon became overcrowded and overgrazed
• Africans began living as squatters without water, proper sanitation and good rainfall patterns
• The Act ended competition between European farmers and African peasants
• The geographical location of the reserves denied Africans access to markets as they were far from roads and railway lines
• Lack of individual title deed to land in Tribal Trust Lands led to underdevelopment of the land through soil improvement, irrigation, grading, drainage, and roads.
• Africans were burdened with more taxes to force them to go and work on European farms
• Abuse of all forms became more evident in the society

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