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Zimbabwe’s Government has announced An Initial Pay-out of $ 3m (£ 2.3m) to White Farmers Were Farms Were Seized Under a Controversial Government Program More Than Two Decades ago.
It is The First Payment to Be Made The 2020 Compensation Agrement Signed Between the State and The Local White Farmers in What Zimbabwe Committed to Pay $ 3.5bn (£ 2.6bn) for seized farmland.
Thousands of White Farmers Were Foreced From Their Land, ofen Violently, Between 2000 and 2001.
The Seizures were Meant to Redress Colonial Land Grabs But Contributed to The Country’s Economic Decline and Ruined Relations With The West.
The Payment Announced On Wednesday Will Cover The First 378 Farmers, Out of a Total 740 Farm Owner Had Be Approved.
It represents 1% of the total $ 311m allocated for The First Batch Of Payments.
The Remainder Will Be Paid Through US-Dollar Denominated Treasury Bonds, Said Finance Mthuli Mthuli NCUBE.
“One of Our Commitments to Reform to the Zimbabwe Economy, to Clear Our Arrears, Is Really to Compensate Farm Owners Who Lost Their Farms During The Land Reform Program,” He said.
“We Have Now Begun to Honor That Agreement.”
Harry Orphanides, One of the Farmers’ Representatives, Told The BBC That More Farmers Have Indicated An Indicated An Interest In The Compensation.
However, the Majority of Former Farmers have not signed up to the Deal, and even still holding onto their title Deeds.
The Government has only agreed to Compensate Farm Farm Owners “Improvements” Made on The Land and Refused to the Land Itself, Arguing It Was Unfairly Seized by Colonialists.
It was prioritized Foreign-Owned Farms Under separate negotiations.
In January, Zimbabwe Began Paying Compensation for Foreign Investors Whose Farms Were Protected Under Bilateral Investment Agreements.
In 1980, Zimbabwe Gained Independence, Ending Decades of White-Minority Rule. At That Time, Most Of The Country’s Most Fertile Land Was Owned by Some 4,000 White Farmers.
Land Reform Was Redistributing White-owned Land to Black Farmers, Following Colonial Policies of Black Farmers Were Foreced From Their Land and The Country’s Most Fertile Are Were Reserved for White People.
In 2000, President Robert Mugabe Supported Land Invasions by A Mix of Government Forces and Vigilante Groups, Sparking International Condemnation.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Who Replaced Mugabe in 2017 Coup, has the Sought to Engage Western Governments to Restore Ties.
Mnangagwa has previously Said Land Reform Cannot Be Reversed, But Committed To Paying Compensation A Way of Mending Ties.
The Southern African Country has been locked out of the global financial System for More Than Two Decades, Leaving The Struggling Economy With A Huge Foreign Debt.
Analysts Say The Land Payment Marks An Important Step In Repairing Relations With Western Nations and Avoiding International Judgements Argainst Zimbabwe.
