The Zimbabwean government and former white commercial farmers on Wednesday signed a US$3.5 billion compensation agreement for the farmers. The money, which will be borrowed by the Zimbabwean government, is meant for improvements made by the white farmers on their farms that were acquired by the government under the land reform program.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, speaking at the signing ceremony in Harare, said the agreement was a significant step towards bringing closure to the land reform program. Under the program which started in the early 2000s, government compulsorily acquired excess farmland from white farmers to resettle landless blacks. The government said this was meant to redress colonial land ownership imbalances that were skewed in favour of whites, and also to economically empower the country's majority blacks.
Mnangagwa said the momentous event is historic in many respects, as it brings both closure and a new beginning in the history of the land discourse in Zimbabwe.
He said the process which had culminated in the signing of the agreement is historic as it is a re-affirmation of the irreversibility of land reform program as well as a symbol of the country's commitment to constitutionalism, respect of the rule of law and property rights.
At least 2,801 former commercial farmers acceded to the compensation out of 2,963 that were approached with the compensation offer.
Mnangagwa said the compensation was being done in line with the country's constitution, adding that the agreement was only limited to improvements made on the farms and not the land itself.
Details of how much money each farmer would get were not immediately available, but the payments would cover the value of improvements, biological assets and land clearing costs.
The global compensation figure will be payable in instalments as follows: a 50% deposit payable 12 months after signature of the agreement and one-quarter of the balance in each subsequent year so that full payment is made over five years.
Mobilization of funding is expected to commence soon while a compensation committee would verify all claims before payment is made.
(Xinhua)
