Zimbabwe to Pay Over 400 Former White Farmers for Land Improvements

Zimbabwe will begin compensating White farmers whose land was seized in 2000 and led to the decimation of agriculture and the economy.

The government has cleared 444 former commercial farm owners to receive payment for improvements made on the land before they were evicted, it said Wednesday in a statement. 

“The government allocated $35 million in the 2024 budget for compensating former farm owners who are part of the Global Compensation Deed signed in 2020,” it said. 

Under an accord signed in 2020, the government agreed to compensate 4,000 White farmers whose land was seized by war veterans, but it has repeatedly missed payment deadlines. In May, it said about 1,300 White Zimbabwean commercial farmers had signed up to get compensation that would be paid in 10-year treasury bills, estimated to cost it $3.5 billion over 10 years.

Compensating farmers  

The government will also compensate farmers from five European nations including Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands and the former Yugoslavia who had their farms seized even though they were protected under so-called bilateral investment protection and promotion agreements, or Bippas.

The government has set aside $20 million in this year’s budget covering 92 farms under the Bippas, it said. The growers will be compensated for land and improvements on the farms, it said. 

Debt Revamp

The payments are vital in the southern African nation’s bid to win over creditors for the restructure of $21 billion debt it owes, after defaulting in 1999. 

The nation confirmed that it had hired advisers to help with the restructure, including Global Sovereign Advisory and Kelper-Karst, with support from the African Legal Support Facility. Bloomberg reported on the hiring last week. 

“The process is a crucial step in enabling the government to address the long-standing debt-overhang challenge that remains a significant obstacle to the country’s development efforts,” the government said.