Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, retired Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri has said that newly resettled farmers who get land from the government will have to contribute towards compensation for former farmers whose land was appropriated by the government. Responding to a question during the oral answers to questions without notice in the National Assembly, Shiri said,
It is true that the new farmers have to contribute towards the cost of improvement on the farms and that money ultimately is used for compensating the former farmers.
There are improvements that were done on the farms and the new farmer is utilising those improvements. Quite a number of them now have 99-year leases and all the farmers with offer letters are looking forward to one day having 99-year leases. It makes common sense that instead of labouring the taxpayer, the person who is directly benefitting from those improvements contributes towards the compensation of the former farmer.
Let me categorically state that the compensation is not being done directly from the new farmer to the former farmer but is being done through Government.