$53 Million Not Enough To Compensate White Former Farmers- CFU Director

Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) Director Ben Purcell-Gilpin said the $53 million proposed by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube cannot solve the compensation issue.

In his 2019 national budget presentation on Thursday, Ncube proposed $53 million to compensate white farmers. Despite stating that the money proposed by Ncube will not be enough, Purcell-Gilpin said it showed Government has not forgotten about the need to repay those who lost their farms over the past 18 years, He said some of the farmers are in desperate financial straits.

Purcell-Gilpin said it was also possible that most of the $53 million allocated under Thursday’s budget would compensate foreign landowners, who were protected by BIPPA trade agreements. Around 40 Dutch farmers under BIPPA trade agreements have been trying for years to get around $25 million from Government.