Antony Chawagarira
Harare-Government has clarified that the planned return of farms protected under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs) is not a reversal of Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Programme, but a legal process aimed at resolving outstanding international obligations.
Speaking in Parliament this week, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said the move only affects a limited number of farms protected under bilateral treaties signed between Zimbabwe and foreign governments.“The BIPPA process is about settling outstanding legal claims and compensating investments protected by bilateral treaties. It does not open the floodgates for the return of all former white-owned farms. The land reform programme remains irreversible,” Masuka told lawmakers.
Government says about 67 farms covered under BIPPA agreements are being considered for return to their original foreign owners or compensation arrangements after they were compulsorily acquired during the land reform exercise that began in 2000. The farms are valued at approximately US$145.9 million.
The initiative forms part of Zimbabwe’s broader efforts to restore investor confidence, repair relations with Western countries and unlock international debt relief after more than two decades of economic isolation.
In Chiredzi and the Save Valley region, farms reportedly under BIPPA protection include Makore, Sango, Chishakwe, Matendere, Mapare, Savuli, Humani, Senuko, Hammond, Musaizi and Gunundwi.Masapas Range, also known as Bateluers Peak Farm or Masapasi Ranch, owned by South African national Craig Henning, is also protected under BIPPA arrangements. Oscro Farm, a 5,000-hectare ranch west of Chiredzi owned by Italian investor Tony Renato Sarpo, is another property covered under an agreement signed between Zimbabwe and Italy in 1999.
Outside Masvingo Province, several other farms and conservancies across the country were also protected under BIPPA agreements involving countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy.In Mashonaland West, some farms in areas such as Banket, Karoi and Chinhoyi reportedly fell under Dutch and German investment agreements. In Manicaland, a number of timber and coffee estates in the Eastern Highlands involving foreign investors were also affected during land redistribution.
Parts of wildlife conservancies in Matebeleland North and properties linked to the Chiredzi River Conservancy were also covered by international investment protection agreements.Government says the process is being handled within the Constitution and international treaty obligations and will not affect the wider land redistribution programme that benefited hundreds of thousands of black Zimbabweans.
Minister Masuka said Government is simultaneously strengthening land tenure security for local farmers by issuing permits, leases and offer letters to more than 450,000 beneficiaries under the land reform programme.
Analysts say the BIPPA issue has remained one of the major sticking points in Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts with international lenders and Western governments, who have demanded compensation and resolution of property disputes as part of economic reform conditions.
