Zimbabwe paid out US$43m to evicted white commercial farmers
Main News Politics

Zimbabwe paid out US$43m to evicted white commercial farmers

The state's latest seizure of white-owned land leaves white farmers in no doubt about its intentions. (Reuters)

Zimbabwe government has spent nearly $43 million compensating white commercial farmers whose farms were acquired during the country’s land reform programme.

A Zimbabwean farmer addresses a meeting of white commercial farmers in the capital Harare, February 5, 2010. The farmers discussed ways in which they can force the Zimbabwe government to pay compensation for their confiscated farming land and have decided to take their case to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal Court in March. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo (ZIMBABWE - Tags: AGRICULTURE POLITICS) - RTR29V35
A Zimbabwean farmer addresses a meeting of white commercial farmers in the capital Harare, February 5, 2010. The farmers discussed ways in which they can force the Zimbabwe government to pay compensation for their confiscated farming land and have decided to take their case to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal Court in March. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo (ZIMBABWE – Tags: AGRICULTURE POLITICS) – RTR29V35

Presenting the Mid-Term Policy review Thursday, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Patrick Chinamasa, said despite the economic challenges facing the country, the Government had made strides towards compensating the farmers.

 Related Posts:

“To date, $42.7 million has been paid out for 43 farms, notwithstanding fiscal constraints being faced by Government. “Government is expediting mapping and valuation of improvements on farms acquired under the Land Reform Programme so that it can compensate the farmers,” he said.

The Minister said land rentals and levies paid by beneficiaries of the land reform programme were some of the resources that will be used to compensate farmers. Minister Chinamasa said new farmers had paid $1,6 million in land rentals and $315 000 in development levies by end of last month.

He hailed farmers for their commitment to paying rentals and levies.

The move to compensate farmers comes at a time when the Government is engaging international partners to source funding for the agricultural sector.

The Government recently launched the $500 million command agriculture initiative to boost production.-Zimpapers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *