Matabeleland food shortages. Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo finally reconciled their political differences by late 1987. The roots of discord remained, however, and in some ways increased as Mugabe's rule became increasingly autocratic into the 21st century. In the early 1990s, a Land Acquisition Act was passed, calling for the Mugabe government to purchase mostly white-owned commercial farming land for redistribution to native Africans. Matabeleland has rich central plains, watered by tributaries of the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, allowing it to sustain cattle and consistently produce large amounts of cotton and maize. But land grabbing, squatting, and repossessions of large white
HMS Zambesi (R66) convoys, and other operations in the North Sea and off the coast of Scandinavia. As the war reached its end "Zambesi" was deployed with the Home Fleet to support operations to re-occupy countries previously under German occupation, and this included guardship duties. After the end of the war "Zambesi" joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla in which she served until 1947 when she was paid-off and was reduced to reserve status in the Plymouth Reserve Fleet. She remained in reserve until 1950, though received a refit at Gibraltar in 1948. In 1951 she was a target ship for the 3rd Submarine