The Zimbabwean government will pay an initial US$20 million this month to foreign white and local Black farmers who lost land due to farm invasions under former leader Robert Mugabe, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Friday, reported <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/zimbabwe-compensates-foreign-local-farmers-over-land-invasions-2024-10-04/">Reuters</a>.
This payment is part of the 2024 budget and aims to restore the country’s agricultural sector and support economic revival.
The collapse of agriculture began when Mugabe initiated the seizure of productive farms in 2000, impacting many white commercial farmers and some Black Zimbabweans.
Most of the farms were owned by Zimbabwean white commercial farmers after colonialists forcibly took them from Blacks early in the 20th century.
The compensation will include foreign farmers from Belgium, Germany, and other countries, as well as 400 Black Zimbabweans.
A separate much larger $3.5 billion compensation scheme for 4,000 white Zimbabwean farmers was announced in 2020, but funds have not been released due to Zimbabwe’s financial struggles.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is working to engage Western governments to restore relations, resolve foreign debt, and revive the economy, though last year’s elections raised concerns about donor confidence.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube indicated that the dialogue process is ongoing and essential for clearing Zimbabwe’s debt arrears. He said:
<blockquote>
The dialogue process is working and will help us in clearing our arrears eventually.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe is seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-monitored program as a first step towards debt relief, with an IMF team scheduled to visit Harare in the next two weeks.
Zimbabwe’s total foreign debt stands at $12 billion, owed to various international financial institutions and private funders.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

The government of Zimbabwe will pay $20 million to farmers who lost land because of Robert Mugabe. This money is to help the agricultural sector and the economy. The farm seizures by Mugabe in 2000 affected white and Black farmers. The compensation includes foreign farmers and Black Zimbabweans. President Mnangagwa is working to improve international relations. Zimbabwe is trying to clear its $12 billion debt with help from the IMF. The dialogue process is ongoing to help with clearing the debt. This is good news for farmers who lost their land.

Government To Pay US$20 Million To Farmers Affected By Land Seizures

White farmers who lost their land during Zimbabwe’s chaotic land redistribution exercise have made some changes to the government’s proposal of paying the US$3.5 billion compensation through a 10-year commercial paper.
The former farmers rejected the proposal and have made some changes to suit the age profile of the supposed beneficiaries.
Speaking to <a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/ex-farmers-turn-heat-on-govt/">Business Times</a> on Wednesday, Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) president Andrew Pascoe said they are currently engaging members to get their views on the Government proposal. Said Pascoe:
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We made some new changes to the government’s proposed deal and currently, we are carrying out surveys with our members to see if they agree to the new proposals.
</blockquote>
In 2020, the Government pledged to compensate the former farm owners in phases.
The first installment of US$1.75 billion was supposed to be paid in 2021 and the balance was to be paid in four equal installments of US$437.5 million per year.
The Government failed to fulfill the promise to the formers farmers and has shifted goalposts on several occasions.
Moreover, critics argue that the compensation does not go far enough to address the harm caused by the land reform programme.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

White Former Farmers Scrutinize Compensation Deal

A white former farmer Shane Warth who in December 2022 was evicted from his 60-hectare plot in Mwenezi says his several attempts to get an offer letter have all been in vain.
The plot is located in the Mpapa area of Mwenezi East’s Ward 13 in Masvingo Province.
Warth (65) had utilised the plot for 32 years and his farming equipment is now lying idle at his homestead in Chiredzi following his eviction from the plot.
He had a total of 25 permanent workers and besides specialising in sugar cane farming, Warth also grew maize and soya beans among several other crops.
In a telephone interview, Warth told <a href="https://tellzim.com/evicted-mpapa-white-farmer-denied-offer-letter-for-over-32-years/">Tellzim News</a> that the eviction had completely ruined his life. He said:
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I acquired the plot by paying for it some 32 years back and I made a huge investment to ensure massive production at my plot.
Right now it is very painful that someone who had put absolutely nothing came over to claim ownership of the plot.
The eviction had completely ruined my life. Right now my farming equipment is idle here in Chiredzi.
Despite overwhelming evidence that I had been very productive for the past 32 years, I made countless efforts to get the offer letter at district, provincial and national levels but I was turned down in all the offices.
</blockquote>
A farmer in the Mpapa area who spoke on condition of anonymity said they relied on Warth for farming expertise. Said the farmer:
<blockquote>
We were given this land and we paid for it as it was part of the pension package from Triangle Sugarcane Company where all the plot occupants used to work.
What irks me the most is that in the case of Warth’s eviction, the issue of property rights was completely ignored.
We are really wondering where exactly are we going as a nation when proven progressive farmers like Warth are kicked out of their land like that and replaced by people without any track record of farming.
Why doesn’t the government look for several vacant lands for newcomers to prove their farming skills?
More worrisome is the fact that his yearly production regularly surpasses the rest of the farmers here.
He was the only local farmer with the Centre Pivot and many of us relied on him in diverse ways.
</blockquote>
Warth was evicted from his plot to pave way for ZANU PF central Committee member Cuthbert Muzara and one Emmanuel Chugubu.
Muzara told Tellzim News that he is legally occupying the 21-hectare part of the plot that used to belong to Warth.
He admitted that Warth was evicted from the main house and the larger plot section that has now been occupied by Chigubu.

Govt Denied Evicted White Farmer Offer Letter For Over 32 Years

Some white former farmers who lost land during Zimbabwe’s fast-track land resettlement programme have criticised the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) leadership for allegedly failing to be firm during their engagements with the government.
<a href="https://businesstimes.co.zw/divisions-rock-ex-farmers/">Business Times</a> reported sources as saying aggrieved farmers accuse CFU leadership of being “too weak” to deal with the issues at hand.
The farmers suspect that the leadership may have been persuaded by the government into accepting compensation outside the agreed timeline of 5 years.
Two years ago, the government tabled a US$3.5 billion offer to the former farmers.
But four months ago, the government gave the former farmers four months to decide on a 20-year bond that would see the government paying US$70 million per year as compensation for their assets expropriated during the land reform exercise.
An aggrieved former farmer who spoke to Business Times said CFU leadership accepts “everything” tabled by the government. Said the former farmer:
<blockquote>
We are saying we don’t want the bonds as they take time to recoup our money but the leadership is taking time to tell the government that we don’t want them.
Why do we have to wait for December to tell the authorities that bonds are not viable given our age?
The problem is that some of our leaders still have pieces of land which they were removed from and they don’t share the same pain we have.
</blockquote>
The CFU president Andrew Pascoe is reportedly still farming at his Ivordale Farm located 45km East of Harare along Nyamapanda road.
Recently, former CFU president Charles Tuffs urged the former farmers to exercise patience and “give the government a chance”.

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