Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr
Sibusiso Moyo has said the removal of illegal sanctions by the West will
increase investment in Zimbabwe and aid the implementation of land and security
sector reforms.
Dr Moyo said in an opinion piece published by Foreign
Policy magazine last week that President Mnangagwa’s administration had already
started reforms in many areas.
“Lifting sanctions and increasing international investment
will speed land and security sector reform and enhance the protection of human
rights,” he said.
“Since the election of a new government for Zimbabwe one
year ago, the administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in which I serve,
has begun reforming our land policies, changing laws, and commencing a new
compensation initiative to address the injustices of the recent past.”
Dr Moyo said Government and white former commercial farmers
were set to conclude negotiations on a final compensation figure for land
improvements on acquired properties and payment mechanisms.
He said Government and the farmers conducted a parallel
evaluation of how much was required in compensation and what remained was to
come up with an agreed figure.
Dr Moyo was responding to issues raised by commentators
regarding the compensation of the farmers.
“In parallel, the Government is completing a nationwide
evaluation exercise in order to arrive at an overall compensation figure,” he
said. “The farmers have already computed their own figure. What remains,
therefore, is for the Government and the farmers to conclude ongoing
negotiations to reach a final agreed compensation figure and payment mechanism.
“I am confident, given existing goodwill and the desire of
all parties to resolve the issue of compensation, that we will soon be in a
position to go public with an agreement.
“The issue of the land itself has been agreed and settled.
For farms obtained under bilateral investment treaties, reimbursement shall be
for both land and improvements to land. However, domestic deeds must be seen in
a wider historical arc, one laden with colonial dispossession and racial
subjugation. A select few held the finest farmland in Zimbabwe to the detriment
of our society.”
Dr Moyo said white farmers were now eligible for 99-year
leases on land as opposed to the previous limit of five-year leases.
He said Government had set aside $53 million in its 2019
national budget for a comprehensive payment process covering 4 500 farmers
whose land was acquired under the fast track land reform programme.
Dr Moyo said there was need to address the land question
permanently so that the country does not remain caught in the past.
“It is not a question of whether the current policies go
far enough, but the speed of travel,” he said. “For instance, tenancies are not
bankable, because they are not transferable in the event of a default.
“To rectify this, a revised leasehold has been agreed in
principle with Government and the Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe. Now, this
must be ratified into law. At the same time, property rights are being
strengthened through their enforcement, with a clampdown on illegal farm
seizures.” Herald
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