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Zimbabwean white farmers who were forced off their land during the 2000 land reform programme have turned down the government’s offer to settle the $3.5 billion over 10 years.
The amended agreement was signed in 2020 with the farmers who had been removed from their properties more than 20 years ago.
The farmers say they will be stepping up pressure against the Zimbabwean government by demanding the return of their farms to them.
The issue of land ownership has always been a highly emotive one. These white former farmers in Zimbabwe say they have a tangible claim, and that the $3.5 billion dollar deal is a slap in the face for them.
These farmers say their land claim is worth more than 10 billion dollars, and that the only way to get compensation is putting political pressure on the Zimbabwean government to amend its land policies.
“There is nothing to hide here, for the farmers, they want to put their case, when this global compensation deed was signed one of the issues was a few hundred farmers destitute and we have nothing and they don’t know how they will afford their medical bills at the end of the month.
The Zimbabwean government gave us a few dollars each month but it’s not enough and we never know when they will pay us, and if we don’t accept their new deals, the government would stop paying us,” explain chairperson of Southern African Agriculture Initiative, Dr Theo De Jager.
They say they want fair compensation for their land and have turned to the South African courts to put pressure on the Zimbabwean government.
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