Real black African.

Zimbabwe pays $64m to white farmers who lost land under Mugabe

Compensation payments have been made to white farmers in Zimbabwe who lost their farms in a controversial land reform policy under the erstwhile Robert Mugabe – led government.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is quoted by the state-owned Herald newspaper as saying 93 farmers had so far benefited to the tune of $64 million.

According to him efforts were still underway to trigger more disbursements via a verification exercise given that the government had identified more farmers who needed to be duly compensated.

“Compensating the affected farmers is a noble idea and is in keeping with our constitutional dispensation,” he added.

The plan apparently angered a South African firebrand politician, Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF, who branded President Emmerson Mnangagwa a sellout by agreeing to compensate the farmers.

Malema opined that it was particularly worrying for a financially burdened country as Zimbabwe to find money for other reasons than alleviating poverty.

“It’s a sellout position. The way he is going about it, he is not going to finish his term,” Malema said.

“That country is swimming in a pool of poverty; they can’t afford basic things like primary health, proper education and infrastructure. He gets money and goes to give it to people who are not deserving. He is reversing the gains of the revolution struggle. It’s unsustainable,” he added.

The Zimbabwe government and ruling party, Zanu-PF, have stood by the decision charging Malema to stay off their internal affairs and justifying that the move was to win investor confidence.

The party spokesman Simon Khaya Moyo urged Malema to let Zimbabwe deal with its internal issues whiles deputy information minister Energy Mutodi was quoted as telling local NewsDay portal that Harare is seeking to mend fences with western countries.

“Government is clearing all obstacles that have hampered cordial and co-operative relations with Britain and the whole European Union bloc. The Second Republic is focusing on re-engagement.

Emmerson Mnangagwa offers Zimbabwe's white farmers 99-year leases

White farmers in Zimbabwe have said they are are relieved and “at peace” after president Emmerson Mnangagwa's government said it would end land invasions and offer them longer leases for their farms.

Mr Mnangagwa, who came to power after a soft coup d’etat last November, gave orders earlier this month to grant the estimated 200 to 300 remaining white farmers in the country 99-year leases for their land.

A government letter, dated January 3 but published only on Wednesday, said: “Please be informed that the Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement has directed that all remaining white farmers be issued 99-year leases.

Collectively, white farmers were forced to abandon more then 17 million acres of land as well as equipment, personal possessions, and livestock.

Many of them have drawn up detailed audited claims in the hoped of one day winning compensation. The total value of the claims is estimated to be about £6 billion, including for land and “improvements.”

On February 1 this year, the state-owned newspaper The Herald reported that Mnangagwa had pronounced that white farmers willing to come back and farm were free to do so but had to apply for land just as anyone else has to. Under Zimbabwe’s constitution all agricultural land belongs to the government.

The new administration also moved to stop fresh illegal farm occupations, and some illegal settlers have since appeared in courts across the country.

Eddie Cross, the Movement for Democratic Change’s economic affairs secretary, said reliable information shows that about 600 white farmers are back on Zimbabwean farms since Mnangagwa took over.

Mandera was worst. Only whites love him coz he cooled down the angry blacks after apartheid ended and thus prevented a massacre and dispossession of msungus with his rainbow nation nonsense. Otherwise he did nothing for the black man.

Ok,I know this is petty but I thought the challenge was in the spoken word not the written word.