Source: US hails farmers’ compensation – NewsDay Zimbabwe
BY SHARON SIBINDI
THE United States embassy in Harare has hailed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pledge to compensate white former commercial farmers, describing the move as noble although government has already missed some of the timeframes.
US embassy charge d’affaires Thomas Hastings made the remarks on Friday during a tour of Princess Margaret Rose Health Clinic in Bulawayo.
Last year, government signed the Global Compensation Agreement to compensate the ex-commercial farmers for infrastructural developments on the farms which have since been redistributed to indigenous farmers.
Government had initially pledged to start making the payments this year, but shifted the dates to next year.
“I will say I know this government has made a real effort at political, economic reforms and stated that they have many changes that they want to make. One of the areas where we have seen some positive improvement is the fact that the government has negotiated an agreement with the commercial farmers to arrange for compensation for the value of land and improvements to the land that was lost,” Hastings said.
“We think that is a positive step, but so far, it’s still incomplete because the government has not yet paid the money to the farmers which it had negotiated as promised. But we are watching that process very carefully, and we do consider that as positive.”
He added that while the US was committed to promoting investments into Zimbabwe, it respected the decisions made by private sector companies to invest in a country of their choice.
“They make their own decisions based on factors such as the opportunities that the country presents, and whether the country has clear rules for investment, including whether those rules are followed. So in that sense, Zimbabwe is in competition with South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and other countries.
“So they have to make sure that their environment is welcoming for companies to invest,” he said.
COMMENTS
Yes, such compensation would be a fair way forward.
The next step we must take is to start paying pensions again to our retired Government servants.
Servants who paid into our government’s pension scheme for over thirty-five years in some cases.
When that happens, I can look into the eyes of all these struggling retirees here in the UK that I meet up with and not feel shame for Zimbabwe.
The compensation is for developments on the farms like buildings and dams not the market value of the land .The land is ours and it was stolen from our ancestors by the white farmers.
And you stole it from the San and Vadoma. But of course thats mere history and doesn’t matter. It will not be long before you will all be looking for another home when the Chinese drive you out to recoup their loans.
To Patriotic Zimbabwean:
Fair point… but, while we’re being fair, I wonder what state Zim (and all those African regions that were colonized by the Europeans) would be in. Take away the infrastructure and judiciary systems and representative governments and jobs and agricultural techniques and international trade and all such things, and suppose instead of the white Europeans it was the likes of Mugabe and Mnangagwe that had ruled instead. That kind of governance not only has not improved life for those who live between the Zambezi and Limpopo, it has not even maintained the advancements the rulers inherited. It doesn’t matter whether the slavers are white, black, or green, an enslaved people are still indentured to their master, and there is no difference.
I’m only musing, but it would be interesting if we could turn back the clock and eliminated the influences, impact, and innovations those Europeans brought to the various regions… just long enough to cure my curiosity.
So, Patriotic Zimbabwean, give it some thought and tell us fairly what you think Zim would be like today without the Europeans of yesteryear.