The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Government has secured US$1 million towards the payment of compensation to white former farm owners as agreed in the Global Compensation Deed signed last year.
In a statement, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube who is also the chairman of the Joint Resource Mobilisation Committee said:
“An amount of US$1 million was declared in favour of the fund for compensating former farm owners and this amount will be applied towards partial settlement of the agreed global compensation figure. Subsequently dividends will be paid quarterly and applied in the same manner.”
In the 2021 National Budget, Government committed an amount of ZWL$2 billion towards the compensation of the former farm owners. Prof Ncube said the resources were currently being disbursed to distressed former farm owners as interim relief payments.
In addition, on 18 December 2020, Government secured US$250 million towards the compensation process through the donation of a shareholding of equal value in mining asset- Kuvimba Mining House, to a special purpose vehicle specifically created to raise funds for the Global Compensation Agreement (GCA).
Minister Ncube said the first dividend from the long term shareholding was paid on 23 June 2021. The Global Compensation Deed (GCD) which was signed on 29 July 2020, marked a turning point in the restoration of trust and cooperation between the former farm owners and the Government of Zimbabwe.
The Global Compensation Deed was also consummated in the context of Government’s desire and commitment to move the Vision 2030 agenda forward and to ensure its timely realisation through increased agricultural productivity, among other initiatives.
Meanwhile, financial advisors have been appointed in compliance with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDPA) Act [Chapter 22:23].
“We are pleased to advise that the process has now been completed and the contract with the Financial Advisors- Newstate Partners was signed 21 April 2021. The Financial Advisors have already commenced work with the JRMC supporting its capital-raising efforts,” said Prof Ncube.
He said that the longer than anticipated period for the appointment of the financial advisors and the Covid-19 pandemic had slowed down the resource mobilisation process. Prof Ncube said the parties to the Global Compensation Deed have therefore agreed to extend the period for the first payment from 31 July 2021 to 31 July 2022.
