12 The press which for years crusaded against corruption has itself been sucked up in the same groove. Allegations have surfaced of bribes being demanded from business executives, politicians and musicians, in return for positive media coverage, or good ratings on the local music and business charts. 1.2.7 The Land Issue The struggle for liberation was primarily about our land which had been siezed and allocated to colonial settlers. People were forcibly removed from their arable lands and resettled in crowded “reserves”. Since the whole struggle was about the recovery of our land it was clear from the beginning of our independence that the struggle was not over until the land has been returned to its rightful owners. Regretfully the Lancaster House Constitution did not sufficiently recognise this fact and the entrenched clauses in the constitution did not allow for a speedy response to the people’s cry for the land. The promised finances to speed up the process were not forth-coming as expected. The people who needed the land most became impatient and began to occupy some of the farms illegally, thus putting a great deal of pressure on government. As Churches we have repeatedly expressed our full support for the redistribution of the land. While we understand the constraints on the part of government we believe the land redistribution should have been done much earlier in a systematic manner. Regretfully, the sudden, rushed and unplanned comprehensive seizure and redistribution politicised the land question and rendered the process most controversial and impacted negatively on the country. By the year 2000 the national economy was already declining and the morale among the people was already low. In redistributing the land the government was at last doing the right thing which was long overdue, but regretfully it was done the wrong way, at a wrong time, and for the wrong reasons. It is therefore critical that corrective measures be taken immediately to inspire confidence, both nationally and internationally, and enable Zimbabwe to flourish once again. The economy of Zimbabwe and the wellbeing of its people are inseparably tied to the land. We will never be able to deliver the Zimbabwe we want unless the land issue is immediately laid to rest. 1.2.8 Loss of Friends and our Isolation During the years of our struggle for liberation against an oppressive colonial regime our political as well as our military structures enjoyed a great deal of encouragement and support from many groups, governments, as well as Christian organisations throughout the world. Our neighbours sacrificed the lives of their citizens for the liberation of Zimbabwe. We cultivated many friends throughout the world who celebrated our successes and indeed walked with us in the first years of our independence. These many friends of Zimbabwe today are disillusioned and pained by what they see happening in Zimbabwe.