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It appears that Zimbabwe’s white commercial farmers, who were all thrown off their land years ago, are finally going to actually get some compensation. The seizure of their land and just handing it out to all sorts of politically connected people, not to mention alleged former freedom fighters, etc, is what really destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy. Almost 90% of the population does not actually have formal employment, inflation is at 800% and there are shortages of all sorts of basics such as food and petrol. The deal has not been agreed to yet, but the Zimbabwean government is apparently offering now to pay the farmers $3,5 billion. Where exactly Zimbabwe is going to obtain that money is another question altogether and for many whose lives have been ruined it is too little too late. On the other hand, I had a terribly unpleasant experience at the hands, and on the farm, of a white Zimbabwean farmer, so I do certainly hope that he, who probably also had his farm confiscated some time after us stayed there, was not representative of the farming community as a whole. Ultimately, it is an admission by the Zimbabwean government that confiscating the lands was not a good idea and that also sends the signal to the South African government and South African farmers where this topic is still discussed from time to time. It certainly did not work out for the Zimbabwean government and then years later for agreeing to pay out the farmers, even if it is not the $10 billion they have claimed, shows you how desperate they must be to bring this dispute to an end.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Tuesday 21-Jul-20
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Comments
Bronwyn said:
on Monday 31-Aug-20 09:37 AM
well on the brightside they can see they did wrong and willing to compensate for this.
Helen said:
on Tuesday 18-Aug-20 08:07 AM
I would agree with Tamaryn, that this story does not sounds right? Why now to offer so much funds for farmers to come back? is in too late after murdering and chasing own people away.
Anyway who would risk their life now to go back and start rebuilding what was destroyed before?
Tamaryn said:
on Thursday 06-Aug-20 10:15 AM
Something doesn't sit right with this whole situation. Why now offer to pay? Something is brewing.
Mathilda said:
on Wednesday 05-Aug-20 02:24 PM
South African government is fully aware of the impact and devastating affect it will have if the land of farmers should be taken away from them, yet they are still in talks of doing just that.
Dasanya said:
on Tuesday 04-Aug-20 04:55 PM
There is always a lesson to be learned and South Africa can definitely learn from the experiences of other countries. While the topic of land will continue to be an issue for years to come, it is a good thing that the Zimbabwean government will be paying out compensation and we can only hope that this will assist them in turning their economy around.
brumilde said:
on Tuesday 04-Aug-20 01:38 PM
Lets hope South Africa learns from other lands not to repeat the same mistakes. Not jus ton just subject but on other as well. Each country should be an example to others. Learn and live as you might say
Nicolle said:
on Tuesday 04-Aug-20 10:40 AM
The issue of land and possession of land is not a new one. Issues of real rights has been a contentious one and enforced since the days of Roman Law. I do not foresee any change in the position of seeking a piece of land as your own to end anytime soon. But, to this end, there is always a right way of doing things and a wrong way.
Daniella said:
on Monday 03-Aug-20 04:19 PM
Hopefully this will turn things around for Zimbabwe - I hope SA can learn from Zimbabwe's mistakes
Zandelee said:
on Thursday 30-Jul-20 05:33 PM
Zimbabwe has endured intermittent food shortages since the government began seizing the White-owned, large-scale farms from 2000 it has had such a negative impact on Zimbabwe's economy. I definitely think it will turn things around for Zimbabwe
Tayla said:
on Wednesday 29-Jul-20 09:28 AM
This is a good thing, they deserve compensation. we need the farm land to produce food. The money will be a big help.
Karien said:
on Tuesday 28-Jul-20 11:55 AM
The compensation is not nearly enough to cover the loss suffered by these Zimbabwean farmers.
I hope that South Africa will not turn out to be another Zimbabwe.
The agriculture sector of South Africa is probably the most important one and if our farmers cannot provide food we will be faced with a daunting future.
I know of many farmers who do not have much confidence in our government. This has the ripple effect with farmers to plant less crop, selling livestock and put their farms in the market. Additionally, expropriation without compensation is a real threat. Laws can be changed very fast if there is a legitimate interest and I am sure this pandemic made that clear to everyone.
Prishani said:
on Tuesday 28-Jul-20 11:12 AM
I think most people saw this coming. The way it was implemented was definitely wrong. The one positive is that they realised that they were wrong and are now trying to fix it! Let’s hope it goes well.
Jessica said:
on Tuesday 28-Jul-20 09:22 AM
I must say, many years ago when I watched the video's of the farm attacks in Zimbabwe I was horrified. I see the same now happening in South Africa. If I was a farmer, I sure would not step foot anywhere, where I was targeted before. But to the one's willing to go back, well done and I wish them the best of luck. I do hope they help out Zimbabwe as we all know they really do need it.
Claudia B said:
on Tuesday 28-Jul-20 08:36 AM
Without farmers there will be no food supplied to our shops. it's something we need. It's a good thing and new start for Zimbabwe.
Brenda Strydom said:
on Tuesday 28-Jul-20 07:44 AM
I must say that South Africa is heading the same way as Zimbabwe.We all need to understand without farmers there will be no food supply at all.
Things will never be normal again. I don't know what they achieve by murdering the farmers, they must just remember that "no farmers, no food", so these criminals are actually shooting themselves in the foot, because they are taking the food from their own families mouths and then they want to stand on the side of the roads and beg. Why can't we all just stand together like humans and form one nation? SA will never be the same because people are not standing together and our useless president is also not doing anything about the situation, all they care about is money. He is just as useless like all the others. CORRUPT....... You always see on the news about covid-19 and this and that, but what about farm murders, rape, gender base violence, etc. The president know what the problem is but he is to stupid to do something about the situations that actually matters. These criminals think that they can take a farmers life and take over the land, well good luck....we'll see how far they get, they are actually going to die of starvation and wish they never did it and guess what, I am not the one who is going to support any of them.
Melandre' said:
on Monday 27-Jul-20 08:40 AM
I am glad Zimbabwe realized their mistake and are trying to rectify the situation. However, the real question is where will they obtain such funds, and will the amount actually bring a solution to having destroyed a few farmers lives already. I agree that this might be too little too late, but its a start
Joyce said:
on Friday 24-Jul-20 08:59 AM
Hopefully Zimbabwean government will be able to fulfil its wish of paying its farmers who were unfairly thrown out of their land. I think it is nice that Zim government realized the mistake made and willing to rectify the mistake.
Danielle said:
on Thursday 23-Jul-20 04:49 PM
Without our farmers there will be no food so I hope that South Africa will learn from this. For Zimbabwe it might be very difficult to pick up the pieces and get back to normal again.
Roxanne said:
on Thursday 23-Jul-20 03:58 PM
If Zimbabwe could afford to get the money to pay these farmers, it will then take a very long time to get that farm to where it has to be to produce the way it was before it was taken away
Kayla said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 04:49 PM
It seems to me that South Africa will unfortunately be heading the same way.. Farm land grabs in South Africa is a huge problem as well as Farm Murders. We rarely hear about these statistics on the news, and nor does it get addressed. Hopefully South Africa will wake up before we end up like Zimbabwe.
Michelle D said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 04:48 PM
I heard that they're incentivizing farmers to return to Zim. I have a friend who was shot while fleeing his farm. Albeit aggressive, I can hardly say that the British treated Zimbabweans any better...probably significantly worse. Turns out that Colonialism is just bad for every party involved eventually.
thembi said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 04:20 PM
South Africa must learn from mistakes Zimbabwe is doing. They cannot expect it to be back to normal. Where will money come from. I think this is a big mess to get out of it now
sandra said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 04:09 PM
I have no idea where Zimbabwe will get the money to fund this and also, the damage has been done to the agricultural sector. It will take decades for it to be the same it used to, if ever.
Chante said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 03:59 PM
It was wrong of the Zimbabwean government to allow for these farmers' land to be taken in the first place. They worked hard for years building up what they had and in a blink of an eye everything they had was taken away from them and they were left to start all over again. The Zimbabwean government cannot expect $3,5 billion to replace years of hard work and a life built.
Angelique said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 03:43 PM
If the Zimbabwean government has this kind of money to pay out then can they please explain why their people are dying and starving to death? Who exactly will be paying this compensation? I read a while ago that an alternative to compensation is to offer some of these farmers farms. I am not sure which farmer would want a farm after all has been said and done. They need to cut farm sizes as the large farms are being underutilized and given to skilled farmers
Ziyanda said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 03:38 PM
I agree that South Africa needs to learn from Zimbabwe's mistake, without farming people lose their income and we all struggle for food.
Ashleigh said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 03:10 PM
Wow Nikita's comment says it all. I have watched video's of how farms are being taken away from farmers and just to watch how it is turned into nothing which is very concerning for us as people who depend on farming everyday of our life. It is a lifetime commitment and should have never been taken away from people who know whats required to keep it going.
Nicolene said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 02:10 PM
I really take my hat off for farmers and agree with Nikita's comment below. This is a life long commitment and without the farmers we will not have food, but yet there's still gruesome farm attacks everyday. People really don't think before they do something. Hopefully the government has learned something.
Nikita said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 11:34 AM
With my own parents and majority of my family being farmers this dispute hits close to home. There are some political parties who drive home the message of displacing farmers and occupying the land because they believe they own the land and are entitled to it. This has happened to a pig farm nearby my parents farm where eventually the government expropriated the land with compensation and all I can tell you is that there is absolutely nothing left on this land. What was once a prosperous fully functional pig farm is now a desolate overgrown mess. All the farming equipment is gone and the zinc roofs of the pigstys are missing with not a soul in sight. So what was the big fuss about the land? I think people largely underestimate how difficult farming actually is. Most farmers had to bankrupt themselves in 2018 just to feed their animals due to the draught. Farming is certainly not a 9-5 job where you get to take holidays every December. This is a passion and a life long commitment where unfortunately you have to be on your guard 24/7 hoping you are not the next target to a gruesome attack on either yourself or your animals to drive you off the land. Lets hope South Africa starts raising more awareness around this issue because after all if we have no farmers we have no food. Remember to thank you farmers and their workers for the food you have on your table every night.
Thabitha said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 09:25 AM
Where are they going to get money to compensate these farmers with their current situation and which I thing they are struggling to rebuild their economy and with Covid 19 the changes are very small but we must not lose hope.
Clare said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 09:10 AM
I really wish that South Africa can learn from this, with the on going debate with Government about our Farms is mind blowing, we could face the problem our fellow Africans have gone through i hope for the best but now days i feel that we have no more hope due to truth that does not come clear.
Patrick Sedutla said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 09:06 AM
I also hope that our government has learned something from Zimbabwe as far as land re-distribution is concerned and not make the same mistake. Compensation of the farmers is an admission that things went wrong and lets hope that they can be resettled and take Zimbabwe to the breadbasket that it was known for .
Alexis said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 09:01 AM
I like Lucretia's comment, and it is so very true. People are to learn from the past and not make the same mistakes as done before by others. One can only hope that South Africa is smarter than that,
Melissa van Tellingen said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 09:01 AM
I agree with Lucretia. I certainly hope that the South African Government sees this and learn from their mistakes.
Colleen Kaufmann said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 09:01 AM
Genuinely an interesting topic. My thesis topic integrated into this and the proposed nationalization of the mining industry.
Bianca Niemann said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 08:52 AM
I hope this would be a lesson for the South African government to learn - although I doubt they will even pay any attention, as they never seem to learn from others' mistakes.
lucretia said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 08:43 AM
I really wish you would send this to the government so that they can learn from the mistakes of the others. Sadly though, even if they know this to be true, they will still go ahead and attempt to do what previously failed neighbours have done. Why is it the the African continent just does not listen.
david said:
on Tuesday 21-Jul-20 08:01 AM
maybe context is required.
Zimbabwe is after an IMF bailout, but the IMF is not interested in Zimbabwe...
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
