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1,300 Zimbabwean White Farmers Seeking Compensation for Seized Land, Official Says

© AP Photo / Tsvangirayi MukwazhiArmed Zimbabwean soldiers are seen from behind the Zimbabwean flag, during Zimbabwe's 36th Independence celebrations in Harare, Monday, April, 18, 2016.
Armed Zimbabwean soldiers are seen from behind the Zimbabwean flag, during Zimbabwe's 36th Independence celebrations in Harare, Monday, April, 18, 2016. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 18.05.2024
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During the presidency of Robert Mugabe (1980–2017), 4,500 white farmers in Zimbabwe were forcibly evicted. The land taken from them was distributed to about 300,000 of Zimbabwe's poor.
Approximately 1,300 white Zimbabwean commercial farmers whose land was confiscated in the early 2000s have applied for compensation, Andrew Bvumbe, head of debt management in the Zimbabwean Ministry of Finance, told the media.
He also revealed that eligible farmers will receive payments through 10-year treasury bills.
The official added that it is necessary to verify the applicants and confirm the amounts owed, and that the government is trying to expedite the process and hopes to resolve it by the end of the third quarter of this year.
The payouts will cover improvements made to the farms, not the land itself, Bvumbe clarified. He expressed hope that demonstrating progress with the current claimants might encourage other farmers to participate in the compensation process.
Zimbabwe's capital Harare - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 07.05.2024
Sub-Saharan Africa
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In a 2020 agreement, the government committed to compensating 4,000 White farmers whose properties were seized by the Zimbabwean authorities. The compensation plan is expected to cost $3.5 billion over 10 years.
Beginning in 2000, Robert Mugabe's government began forcibly seizing farms and land, claiming it was a fight against colonization and the need to return the territory to its black inhabitants.
As a result, the economy of the former British colony collapsed, and the country was placed under international sanctions and denied loans from the IMF and World Bank.
Mugabe had ruled the country since 1987 and was forced to resign in 2017 after a coup.
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