Zimbabwe to pay partial compensation to white ex-farmers

Land redistribution was touted by Robert Mugabe as the redressment of historic injustice -- critics say it destroyed skills and capital, wrecking Zimbabwe's agriculture. [AFP]

Zimbabwe next month will start paying partial compensation to white commercial farmers whose properties were seized nearly 20 years ago under Robert Mugabe's land reforms, the government said Monday.

In a statement, the finance and agriculture ministries said they had budgeted 53 million Zimbabwean dollars ($18 million) in payments to "former farm owners affected by the land reform programme and who are in financial distress."