Lemuel Chekai
Government has reiterated that the return of a limited number of farms protected under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPA) does not amount to a reversal of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, but is instead part of fulfilling constitutional and international obligations.
Responding to concerns raised over the development, Acting Leader of Government Business in Parliament and Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Dr Anxious Masuka, said the process only affects a small number of farms covered by bilateral investment treaties.
He stressed that the country’s land reform programme remains permanent and unchanged.
“The BIPPA process is about resolving outstanding legal obligations relating to investments protected under bilateral agreements. It should not be mistaken for a return to the pre-land reform era,” Masuka told Parliament on Wednesday.
According to government, 67 farms covered under BIPPA agreements will be returned to former owners as part of efforts to honour international commitments and settle protected investment claims.
Masuka said the move is being implemented within the provisions of the Constitution and does not alter the broader land redistribution framework introduced during the fast-track land reform programme.
At the same time, government says it is advancing plans to regularise land ownership for hundreds of thousands of black farmers across the country.
The minister said secure tenure documents, including permits, leases and offer letters, will be issued to about 450,000 farmers. Beneficiaries include 360,000 A1 farmers, 23,500 A2 farmers and more than 70,000 farmers under old resettlement schemes.
Government is also reviewing historical land administration errors, with 840 farms that were incorrectly gazetted expected to be restored to black farmers identified as the rightful beneficiaries.
In addition, approximately 10,000 Matenganyika farmers who received leases before Independence are set to receive title deeds for the first time.
Masuka further revealed that government has put in place a separate arrangement for 409 former commercial farmers who remained on their properties through peaceful co-existence agreements with resettled farmers. Under the new arrangement, they will be permitted to buy the farms they currently occupy.
Authorities say the measures are part of wider efforts to bring certainty, legal clarity and long-term stability to Zimbabwe’s land tenure system while safeguarding the gains of land reform.