Zimbabwe’s White Farmers will receive the first payment for payments to the ground

The Zimbabwe government has announced an initial payment of $ 3 million (2.3 million pounds) to white farmers whose farms were confiscated under a controversial state program more than two decades ago.

This is the first payment, which is made in accordance with the 2020 compensation agreement, signed between the state and local white farmers, in which Zimbabwe has pledged to pay 3.5 billion dollars (2.6 billion pounds) for confiscated farmland.

Thousands of white farmers were forced from their land, often harsh, between 2000 and 2001.

The attacks were intended to restore the capture of the colonial era, but contributed to the country’s economic decline and destroyed relations with the West.

Payment announced on Wednesday will cover the first 378 farmers, of just 740 former farm owners whose compensation was approved.

It accounts for 1% of $ 311 million allocated to the first batch of payments.

The rest will be paid through US Treasury bonds, Finance Minister Mthuli NCUBE said.

“One of our commitments, when we try to reform the Zimbabwe economy to clear the debt, is really offset by former farm owners who lost their farms during the land reform program,” he said.

“Now we have started honoring this agreement.”

Harry Orphan, one of the farmers, said the BBC that more farmers have indicated interest in signing for compensation.

However, most former farmers have not subscribed to the deal and still hold on to their title.

The government only agreed to compensate for former farm owners for “improvements” made on the ground, and refused to pay for the land itself, claiming that it was unfairly confiscated by colonists.

He tried to prioritize in foreign farms as part of some negotiations.

In January, Zimbabwe began to pay compensation to foreign investors whose farms were protected as part of bilateral investment agreements.

In 1980, Zimbabwe gained independence, completing decades of the White Minority Rules. At the time, most of the country’s most fertile land owned about 4,000 white farmers.

The land reform was focused on the redistribution of white land for black farmers, after the policy of the colonial era, when thousands of black farmers were forced from their land, and the most fertile areas of the country were reserved for white people.

In 2000, President Robert Mugabe then supported the invasion of the land with a mixture of government forces and vigilant groups, causing international condemnation.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mugabe in the 2017 coup, sought to attract Western governments to restore ties.

Earlier, Mnangagwa stated that land reform could not be canceled, but seeks to pay compensation as a key way to amendment with the West.

The South African country has been recorded from the world financial system for more than two decades, leaving the economy that has been fighting with huge foreign debt.

Analysts note that the payment of the land means an important step in repairing relations with Western countries and avoiding international reasons against Zimbabwe.