Grim harvest for white farmers
Payback of $54m 'not enough', say those stripped of their farms
Nine years after Ben Freeth was evicted from his citrus farm in Chegutu, the 47-year-old white ex-farmer is sceptical about the latest promise by the Zimbabwean government to compensate former farmers. "We do want compensation for our losses, but not under the current very poor terms that they are offering," he told Business Times. Freeth recalled this week how in 2009 his house was burnt down, his crops were raided by invaders and his family were forced off the property they had lived on for decades. "We did not even leave with a toothbrush between us as a family," he said. Now a land-rights activist, Freeth said a few farmers, out of desperation, had previously taken very small compensation packages offered by the government. "This has been paid over time and is only worth a fraction of what it should be," he said. Freeth claims a fair amount for his losses would be about $13m (R177m). "For lost production and other losses and damage to property since we were evicted, it would be ...
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