Zimbabwe has paid about $508 million in compensation to white farmers whose land was seized during the country’s controversial land reform programme more than two decades ago.
- Zimbabwe has paid about $508 million in compensation, including cash and dollar-denominated bonds, to white farmers whose land was seized during its controversial land reform programme.
- This payment is part of a larger $3.5 billion compensation deal agreed in 2020, aiming to address long-standing disputes with approximately 4,000 affected farmers.
- The government has struggled to meet payment commitments, leading to a revised compensation structure partially involving bonds, some of which were rejected by certain farmers.
- Zimbabwe is also settling claims with foreign property owners affected by the land reforms, with recent compensation deals involving $146 million and the return of several seized farms.
Zimbabwe has paid about $508 million in compensation to white farmers whose land was seized during the country’s controversial land reform programme more than two decades ago, as the government seeks to rebuild relations with international investors and regain access to global capital markets.
The figure includes payments made through dollar-denominated bonds accepted by some farmers, as well as $12.6 million in cash, Deputy Finance Minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa told Bloomberg.
“The payments came through after the farmers had accepted and subscribed to the bonds,” Mnangagwa said, arguing that the use of bonds formed part of the compensation arrangement accepted by participating farmers.
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$3.5 billion compensation deal
Under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the government sought to resolve the long-running dispute. In 2020, Zimbabwe agreed to compensate about 4000 white farmers for improvements and investments made on farms seized during the land reform programme, with the compensation package initially valued at $3.5 billion to be paid over 10 years.
The government has repeatedly struggled to meet its payment commitments and later revised the compensation structure to include dollar-denominated bonds.
Some farmers rejected the bond arrangement, but Mnangagwa said the government was not forcing the instruments on anyone.
“The bonds are not foisted on the individual,” he said. “The fact that they have been paid, partially in cash and the remainder in bonds, is acceptance.”
Zimbabwe has also begun resolving claims involving foreign-owned properties seized during the land reform programme. In May, the government said it would return several farms and pay about $146 million in compensation. The transfer involved 67 properties, with Treasury data showing claims from property owners linked to Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the former Yugoslavia.
The compensation effort forms part of Zimbabwe’s broader attempt to repair relations with the international community and improve its prospects of returning to international capital markets.
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How the land dispute began
Zimbabwe’s land crisis has its roots in the colonial era, when large areas of the country’s most fertile farmland were allocated to white settlers. By the time Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, around 4,000 white commercial farmers controlled nearly half of the country’s productive agricultural land.
The new government pledged to redistribute land to address the imbalance, with Britain initially agreeing to help finance the acquisition of farms. However, the programme progressed slowly, and the British government later withdrew its financial support in the late 1990s.
In 2000, President Robert Mugabe backed the occupation of white-owned farms by Black Zimbabweans, including subsistence farmers and youths, presenting the seizures as a correction of colonial-era land injustices.
The campaign became increasingly violent. Several white farmers and hundreds of farm workers were killed, while about 4,000 white farmers were eventually forced from their properties. The seizures drew international condemnation and contributed to sanctions against Zimbabwe.
