More conflicting news coming out of the continent has left me scratching my head. The following information comes from Aljazeera.

The Zimbabwean government has agreed to pay $3.5bn (billion) to white farmers whose land was taken away during Robert Mugabe’s presidency. Mugabe’s government evicted 4,500 white farmers and redistributed the land to 300,000 Black families as a way to redress colonial land imbalances. However, a new agreement, signed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, states that white farmers will be compensated for infrastructure on the farms but not the land itself. And since the country doesn’t have the money, long-term bonds will be issued out to the farmers, and international donors will also assist in raising the funds.

President Mnangagwa advised the following:

“It brings closure and a new beginning in the history of the land discourse in Zimbabwe.”

“The process which has brought us to this event is equally historic as it is a reaffirmation of the irreversibility of land as well as a symbol of our commitment to constitutionalism, the respect of the rule of law and property rights.”

Farmers will receive 50% of the compensation after a year and the full balance within five years.

Robert Mugabe’s policies reportedly severed ties with the West, who he accused of imposing sanctions on his government. But Mugabe justified his land reform as a way to reclaim the land that was forcibly taken away from the country’s Black population.

I have to do some in-depth research on the history of Robert Mugabe’s presidency, particularly his land reform agreement, because nothing about compensating white farmers makes any sense. The globe, specifically Africa, is still fighting against European colonialism and imperialism. But somehow white “settlers” on the continent are owed $3.5 billion in infrastructure, even though the continent is still struggling with poverty?

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Until Next Time…