Zimbabwe's government has signed an agreement to pay $US3.5 billion ($A4.9 billion) in compensation to white farmers whose land was expropriated during the long tenure of late former president Robert Mugabe.
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President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the decision had been taken in line with the constitution in order to compensate the white farmers for "improvements" they made to the land - such as dams and others constructions - before being displaced.
Andrew Pascoe, the president of the Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe, welcomed the agreement.
"After almost 20 years of conflict over the land issue, representatives of farmers who lost their land through the fast-track reform program and representatives of government have been able to come together to see a resolution of this conflict," said Pascoe.
"To me this is nothing short of a miracle - for me it has been a dream that I will see this day," said Pascoe, whose organisation includes farmers driven off their land in the early 2000s.
The agreement stipulates that 50 per cent of the $US3.5 billion would be paid within 12 months of the day of signing while the remainder would be paid within five years.
"This momentous occasion is historic in many respects - (it) brings both closure and a new beginning in the history of the land discourse in our country," Mnangagwa said.
Zimbabwe will issue long-term bonds and jointly approach international donors with the farmers to raise funding, the compensation agreement says.
Australian Associated Press