By Agriculture Reporter— Displaced white commercial farmers have rejected the compensation offer extended to them by the Mnangagwa administration saying it is a mockery.

The farmers, forcibly evicted from their land during the chaotic land seizures of 2000, have called the compensation offer an insult.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube recently announced that $20 million would be shared among 94 foreign investors whose farms were seized under former President Robert Mugabe’s so-called land reforms.

Additionally, the government has promised $3.5 billion in compensation to displaced white Zimbabwean farmers.

“Both payments will start in earnest, and this is a multiyear program,” Ncube said. “Every year we have an allocation to make payments and fulfil constitutional requirements.”

The government had agreed with the farmers four years ago on the $3.5 billion compensation amount, as mandated by the 2013 constitution, which requires compensation for land improvements rather than the land itself.

However, many farmers remain sceptical about the government’s ability—and willingness—to deliver.

Graham Rae, a displaced farmer now based in Zambia, expressed deep mistrust in the government’s promises, citing concerns about the value of the proposed compensation in government bonds.

“Hold on to your title deeds,” Rae advised other farmers. “Your deeds are legitimate anywhere in the world. The compensation for improvements is insultingly low.”

Ben Freeth, another displaced farmer, echoed Rae’s sentiments. “We’ve heard it all before—that the government will pay commercial farmers whose farms were taken. But we know the government can’t and won’t pay. Bonds are worthless, and no one in their right mind would accept such payments.”

-VOA