White commercial growers in Zimbabwe said that the government has failed to pay part of $331 million in compensation to farmers for expropriating their land but reimbursed others who weren’t part of the deal.
In a joint letter to the finance ministry dated Dec. 10, the Commercial Farmers Union and the Southern African Commercial Alliance asked for urgent talks with the government. The CFU is concerned over payments government has made to another group of farmers, known as Property and Farm Compensation Association (PROFCA). This group was formed by farmers willing to accept Government payment in bonds for their farm improvements.
The CFU letter said many of its members are now destitute.
Says CFU: “The US$35 million allocated in the 2024 budget was earmarked for payment of compensation under the (GCD – global compensation deed) but your Ministry appears to have exclusively provided for the PROFCA agreement and disregarded the interim relief payments previously approved by Parliament for the broader pool of GCD claimants, many of whom are now destitute and have had their dignity taken away whilst being owed significant compensation.”
Zimbabwe is not compensating the farmers for the actual land, but only for assets that were on the farms. Under an accord signed in 2020, the government agreed to compensate about 4,000 white farmers but it has repeatedly missed payment deadlines. The government expects the deal to cost US$3.5 billion over as many as 10 years.
“The current approach risks eroding trust and undermining the structured dialogue platform’s objectives,” the unions said. So far 1,300 former white commercial farmers have signed up to receive compensation, according to official data. Zimbabwe set aside US$35 million in the budget for the year that ended March 31 to begin payments. It set aside US$10 million for the current fiscal year.
The country has identified at least 439 former landowners as beneficiaries for the financial settlement of US$331 million, according to the African Development Bank. The government will continue to make payments to farmers who want to be compensated, said Andrew Bvumbe, the head of debt management in the finance ministry.
Bloomberg/newZWire
ALSO READ
Zimbabwe has signed a US$3.5bn compensation deal with white farmers. Here’s what you need to know
ANALYSIS | Your farm is on my land: Why ‘revolutionary’ Zimbabwe plans to compensate white farmers
