The announcement that Zimbabwe has begun compensating white former commercial farmers two decades after they were forced off the land has stirred mixed reactions.
Last week, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that the government has approved the payout of $3 million (R56 million) to the white farmers.
Zimbabwe Makes First Compensation To White Farmers
This becomes the first batch of payments under the deal signed between Emmerson Mnangagwa and the dispossessed white farmers in 2020, in which Zimbabwe committed to pay $3.5 billion (R63 billion).
Ncube stated that the announced payment is equivalent to 1% of the total compensation claim of $311 million. The payment will cover the first 378 farms out of a total of the approved 740.
“One of our commitments as we try to reform the Zimbabwe economy, to clear our arrears, is really to compensate the former farm owners who lost their farms during the land reform programme,” Ncube said.
“We have now begun to honour that agreement.”
Zimbabwean Reaction to the Announcement
While some see it as a necessary step in mending the country’s image and unlocking economic re-engagement, many ordinary Zimbabweans are struggling to make sense of the timing.
For many Zimbabweans, this decision feels like a betrayal. Here is how they reacted on social media:
@praisehamadzir5: “Meanwhile we don’t have medicines in our hospital. The hospitals are in dire condition…”
@larryzimbo: “We’re being told there’s no money for medicines, but somehow there’s money for this?”
@royal84786: “This gvt eish why do they prioritize the whites and neglect our health sector…”
@herbert_mokoena: “Zimbabwe’s politics are comical. Where does that money coming from? You got half population of your people all over the place, displaced yet giving out so much money? Why not use the money to give it to your population to start farming?“
@JohnSiband43222: “Bad move better improve infrastructure. They made profit from the land they took instead they should pay rent for all the years they used the land.”
Zimbabwe’s Land Reforms
Back in 2000, the Robert Mugabe-led government rolled out a land reform programme that was both controversial and, at times, violent.
Thousands of white-owned commercial farms were taken to hand the land over to Black Zimbabweans. This move was meant to address the legacy of colonial land grabs that had left the country’s indigenous majority dispossessed.
What do you think about the Zimbabwean government’s compensation plan for white farmers?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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