The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) last week elected Liam Philp (pictured) as its new president, replacing Andrew Pascoe as farmers sought a new direction for the organisation.
CFU expected to elect the new leadership last year but abandoned the process after alleged breaches to its constitution in the lead-up to the congress, reported <a href="https://newsday.co.zw/theindependent/local-news/article/200021971/cfu-elects-new-president-to-calm-restive-white-farmers">Zimbabwe Independent</a>.
Pascoe was the CFU president when the group signed a US$3.5 billion compensation agreement with the government under the Global Compensation Deed in July 2020.
White farmers who lost their land under Zimbabwe’s controversial Fast-track Land Resettlement Programme were supposed to receive 50% of the compensation after a year and the balance within five years.
However, the Government has so far only made two token payments and introduced another framework called the Farmers Compensation Agreement (FCA), which provides for compensation through 10-year Treasury Bills (TBs).
The majority of farmers are said to be opposed to the arrangement and are joining the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) which is lobbying for the rejection of the FCA.
Philp’s election came after CFU’s lawyers advised the group to hold fresh polls citing breaches of the CFU’s constitution in the run-up to the abortive elections last year.
In a paper dated December 7, 2023, Daniel Tivadar, the CFU’s legal counsel, said:
<blockquote>
The president should have been elected immediately after the congress. This was not done. To this extent, the constitution was not observed.
Similarly, the Electoral College was intended to be more numerous than it currently is.
Irrespective of the above breaches, the CFU should elect (or re-elect) its president as soon as possible. This is because the annual election of the president is a key feature of the Constitution.
I recommend that the constitution be reviewed as a matter of urgency with a view of amending it at a congress if needed, to reflect the current realities of the CFU.
</blockquote>
CFU represents mostly white large-scale commercial farmers, most of whom lost their land under the fast-track land reform programme at the turn of the millennium.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Commercial Farmers Union Elects New President

White former commercial farmers, whose land was compulsorily acquired during the fast-track resettlement programme, have expressed worry about the new payment terms offered by the government.
Last month, the Government proposed new payment terms to compensate the farmers for improvements made on the farms before they were seized at the turn of the Millenium for re-distribution.
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) president Andrew Pascoe last week said the proposed new payment terms are “completely” different from schedules outlined in the initial deal, also known as the Global Compensation Deed signed in 2020.
Under the original agreement, the farmers were to receive a total of US$3.5 billion between 2020 and 2024.
Half the money had to be paid during the first year, followed by four US$437.5 million annual instalments.
The Government, however, failed to fulfil its obligation. Said Pascoe:
<blockquote>
We have engaged our financial and legal advisors and our biggest worry is that the compensation was going to be much faster than the new terms.
We have proposed some safeguards, which we want to be included in new payment terms; we are waiting for a response from the Government so that discussions can start.
But the major issue is that we want to see if the Government can provide additional safeguards.
</blockquote>
Pascoe did not disclose the finer details citing confidentiality and protocol issues.
Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said in the 2023 Budget Statement in November last year the Government was still on course to raise the funds.
He said US dollar Treasury bonds would be issued this year to raise US$3.15 billion. | <a href="https://www.businessweekly.co.zw/govt-white-farmers-head-for-showdown/">Business Weekly</a>

Govt, White Former Farmers On Collision Course

White farmers who were ejected from farms during the fast track land reform last week received the first paycheque of US$1 million in the form of a dividend for the 12.5 percent equity the Government gave them in Kuvimba Mining House.
Kuvimba, initiated by the Government and led by private investors, declared a cumulative dividend of US$5.2 million to shareholders, 12 months being transformed from the aggregation of struggling mining operations.
Through their lobby group, the Commercial Farmers  Union (CFU), the former farmers said the decision by the Government to allocate the white farmers shares in Kuvimba Mining House, demonstrated the State’s commitment to resolving a decades-long conflict over land.
CFU president, Andrew Pascoe, noted that while the US$1 million dividend payment was only a tiny fraction of the finances required to pay off the full compensation amount, it represented a “seed that will germinate” into bigger things.
Pascoe indicated intended beneficiaries were initially sceptical about the Government’s decision to give shares to the white former commercial farmers who lost their land under the land reform initiative.
He observed, however, that the distribution of the dividend last week went a long way to prove the government’s commitment to resolving the issue.
He added that the compensation deed signed last year between the government and the farmers was driven by a desire to put aside “our differences and work together and find the best way forward to bring an end to a conflict that has raged for over the last 20 years”. He added:
<blockquote>_It is undeniable that the conflict has caused immense hardships for all of us Zimbabweans. The signing of that (compensation) deed was, from my perspective, a momentous occasion._
_Going forward from this, the commitment being shown by the Government to find the funds needed to pay the compensation is demonstrated clearly through the shares allocated to us._</blockquote>
The land issue is a sensitive one with some quarters saying there should be no compensation at all, even for improvements made on farms, since the land had been illegally acquired by the white farmers’ predecessors.
More: <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw">Pindula News</a>; <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/white-farmers-happy-with-us1m-payment/">The Herald</a>

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