Zimbabwe 'pays white farmers who lost land $64m'

Zimbabwe 'pays white farmers who lost land $64m'

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Thousands of farmers were evicted under the land reform policyImage caption: Thousands of farmers were evicted under the land reform policy

Zimbabwe's government has so far paid $64m (£50m) in compensation to 93 white farmers who had land seized under a controversial programme aimed at increasing black ownership of farms, the state-owned Herald newspaper quotes Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube as saying.

The $64m was paid over the last decade for "immovable improvements" that the commercial farmers had made on land, Mr Ncube said.

“In 2018 alone, $12m was paid to 29 farmers. In the 2019 national budget we set aside US$53m for the same purpose,” he added.

The government had identified all farmers who still needed to be paid, and was now involved "in a verification exercise to trigger disbursements", Mr Ncube said.

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