Zimbabwe plans $10bn legal compensation for white farmers

Zimbabwe plans to compensate white farmers whose lands were seized during a widespread redistribution programme by the government.

Earlier in the week, a document was submitted to parliament outlining how farmers will be paid, be it for both land and self-improvement as well as equipment acquired from them.

Zimbabawe plans compensation for evicted white farmers news24 https://t.co/xRG2oJjIJF

— North West ZA (NorthWestZA) March 12, 2016

If approved by the government, the ministry plans to set up a compensation fund. The pay out could amount to 10 billion US dollars in legal settlement.

According to the Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, the government is likely to compensate the farmers as it is part of the country’s constitution.

‘‘This [compensation] is an obligation under our constitution as far as I am concerned,” Chinamasa told AFP.

However, Veteran president Robert Mugabe had previously vowed not to compensate white farmers as the land belongs to the black community. Mugabe claimed on several occasions that the land was stolen during colonial rule. All the best farmland was reserved for white settlers and the rest was left for the black community

Mugabe: white farmers should never be allowed to own land in Zimbabwe, leave or die! https://t.co/SXwxaMALOa via YouTube

— Spirit3131 (Spirit3131) August 11, 2015

The Southern African country has been in an economic meltdown since 2000 after a directive from the government to seize the land of about 4,000 white settlers.

Since then , Zimbabwe has struggled to gain a footing in the agricultural sector, once a pivotal source to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

Seeking to save shattered economy, #Zimbabwe plans compensation for evicted white farmers https://t.co/r84NyJ1rju via MandGAfrica

— Calestous Juma (calestous) March 11, 2016