Zimbabwe’s land reform compensation deal agreed at last

August 2020
Zimbabweland (Ian Scoones)

An agreement between the Zimbabwean Government and the Commercial Farmers Union on compensation for land taken from white farmers was finally agreed on 29 July 2020, 20 years after the land reform programme began. There had been previous attempts, but the science of asset valuation is far from exact. The issue had blocked international recognition of the Zimbabwean Government. Looks at the detractors and sceptics and asks how the agreed sum of US$3.5 billion will be paid for. Believes this is an immensely important step in a long-running and frustrating saga.