Almost 20 years ago, Robert Mugabe’s government carried out often violent evictions of 4 500 white farmers, and redistributed the land to around 300 000 black families and the connected elite.

Now Zimbabwe wants to make amends by compensating those farmers for the land that was taken from them.

In theory, this seems like a good idea, and a way for the country to start building itself back up after close to two decades of economic and social chaos.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with the plan, reports Quartz.

First, some background:

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said he had set aside 53 million Zimbabwean RTGs dollars ($18 million) to compensate the farmers, but the full compensation package of $30 billion is yet to be mobilized.

An estimated 4,000 farmers were evicted during a much-criticized Land Reform Program which was implemented in 2000 under president Robert Mugabe, who was removed from office in November 2017 after nearly 40 years in power.

At an Independence Day celebration in Harare, Mnangagwa said the Land Reform Program was “irreversible but the constitution required paying the farmers who lost land for improvements done on land”.

However, white farmers are threatening to refuse the deal proposed by the government, claiming that there is another way that the issue can be resolved.

One of the issues at stake is some of the white farmers claim they acquired their farm land in fair dealings with local landowners after independence.

“We need to find a way about it,” said Ben Purcel Gilpin, Commercial Farmers Union director. “In Matebeleland, for instance, records show that a significant number of farmers whose properties were acquired by the state actually purchased those farms post- independence and many with certificates of no present interest from the government.”

“Given the reality that the constitutional provisions under which farmers made investments post- independence  have changed after such investments have been effected, it is reasonable for farmers to seek a way that deals with such issues,” said Purcel Gilpin. He said around 1,000 applicants had been received for the interim payment and he was hopeful the actual process for the disbursement of the ZWL53 million set aside by government would be finalized shortly.

Even if the farmers were happy with the proposed deal, Zimbabwe’s government faces internal backlash from the ruling Zanu PF party.

Zimbabwe’s information deputy minister Energy Mutodi said for the white farmers to claim compensation for the land itself was “unacceptable” because, he said, historically the land had been stolen from black Zimbabweans.

“Whoever gave them those title deeds had robbed the land from our ancestors. It is our land and it shall remain our land, generation after generation,” said Mutodi. “The whole reason why the liberation struggle was fought was to regain ownership of our land that we had been dispossessed of by white settlers.”

The battle continues from both sides, while the country struggles to regain economic and social stability.

We’ll keep you updated.

[source:quartz]