Are former commercial farmers in Zimbabwe satisfied with the global compensation agreement?

Abstract

Zimbabwe’s new administration indicated its willingness to end the compensation dispute, which lasted for two decades with former commercial farmers (FCFs), by signing the global compensation agreement (GCA). In the agreement, the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) offered to pay the sum of 3.5 billion, United States Dollars (USD) to the FCFs for their expropriated farmlands. A study carried out by the Valuation Consortium (Valcon) before the GCA signing revealed that most of the FCFs accepted the compensation offered by the expropriating authority. Thus far, no study has been done to assess the level of satisfaction of the affected FCFs, with the GCA provisions. Therefore, this study evaluated the views of FCFs and members of the Compensation Committee (MsCC) on this subject. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey which was mailed directly to the Chairperson of the FCFs, who sent it to other members to respond to issues raised. The study found mixed views by the FCFs on their levels of satisfaction with the GCA. Thus, the study concluded that compensation offered was not entirely satisfactory because it did not include accruals for delayed payment, professional fees, and a detailed breakdown of the compensable heads of claim.