Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers, who were violently evicted from their land in a series of invasions that began two decades ago, said they have been offered $3.5 billion to settle their dispute with the government.

The offer is for improvements and assets on the more than 4,000 farms that were seized and doesn’t pertain to the land itself, said Ben Gilpin, director of the Commercial Farmers Union. An agreement is yet to be reached. The CFU represented most large-scale farmers in the southern African nation.

Neither Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister nor officials in the finance ministry immediately answered questions sent to their phones Wednesday and it’s not clear where Zimbabwe would find $3.5 billion. The country is battling inflation of almost 800% and dealing with shortages of currency, fuel and food with over 90% of the population out of formal employment.

Dispossessed farmers had been seeking $10 billion, but that was 15 to 20 years ago. Zimbabwe’s government maintains that the U.K., the former colonial power, should help pay the farmers. That’s unlikely to happen because the U.K. and most western governments criticized the seizures and the allocation of the properties to senior members of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party -- alongside allegations of human rights abuses.

The offer is an attempt to draw to a close a dispute that tipped Zimbabwe’s economy into freefall by slashing export income and incurring sanctions from the U.S. and European Union. Zimbabwe’s rulers maintain that the land was taken forcibly during colonial times and needed to be returned to Black Zimbabweans.

The Telegraph reported the potential deal earlier.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-08/zimbabwe-s-evicted-white-farmers-get-3-5-billion-settlement-bid

Mugabe who evicted these white farmers and seized their assets is no more, but the country now has to pay for that action. After coughing out enough compensation more than their economy can bear, I hope Zimbabwe won't be put up for sale, cos China will be the first to bid.

The country is battling inflation of almost 800% and dealing with shortages of currency, fuel and food with over 90% of the population out of formal employment.

The country is battling inflation of almost 800% and dealing with shortages of currency, fuel and food with over 90% of the population out of formal employment.

2 decades after destroying their economy they finally ready give the land back. They went from a bread basket to net food importers with trash currency. It's very pathetic situation considering they could have avoided this situation with a little more tact. Dont let anyone fool you into thinking it was sanctions aline that destroyed them.

Interesting .. but can the Zimbabweans manage the farms ?


Anyway come and buy kids Educational Tablets for your children to help them stay ahead of their peers view my profile now