The farms were seized during Robert Mugabe’s 2000 land reform programme. Pic AIG
Yasmin Bilal
Zimbabwe has moved to return 67 farms that were taken from foreign nationals during the early 2000s land reform programme, in a significant step signalling renewed efforts by the government to address long-standing property disputes and rebuild strained international relations.
The decision was confirmed in Parliament by Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka, who said the farms belong to investors from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. He explained that the properties are protected under bilateral investment treaties, meaning Zimbabwe is obliged either to restore them or provide compensation.
The farms were among thousands of commercial properties seized during the fast-track land reform programme launched under former president Robert Mugabe in 2000. While the policy was aimed at correcting historical land imbalances, it led to widespread disruption in the agricultural sector, declining output and years of economic instability and diplomatic fallout.
Officials stressed that the latest move is not a reversal of the broader land reform policy, but rather a targeted response focused on specific properties covered by international legal agreements. The government said most redistributed land remains unaffected and continues to be held under local ownership.
The development comes as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to resolve its external debt burden, estimated at more than $13 billion, and improve relations with Western creditors and international financial institutions. Analysts have long argued that unresolved land disputes remain one of the key barriers to full economic normalisation and progress in debt restructuring.
In addition to the restitution plan, authorities have been working on compensation arrangements for former landowners affected by the programme, with previous frameworks indicating payments running into tens of millions of US dollars.
No timeline has yet been provided for when the farms will be handed back or how the process will be managed on a case-by-case basis.