Africa

Zimbabwe paid $134 million compensation to white former farmers

By Staff Writer 20 Jul 2017 1 Min Read Save

Last updated: 20 Jul 2017, 14:31

White farmers remaining in Zimbabwe talk outside Chegutu magistrate court, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of the capital Harare, file. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

HARARE – Zimbabwe paid $134 million as compensation to white former commercial farmers last year, helping to widen the budget deficit, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Thursday.

President Robert Mugabe’s government in 2000 began seizing white-owned farms saying this was to redress colonial imbalances. The IMF has said compensation the farmers is among the requirements for Zimbabwe to access new foreign funding.

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