Dispossessed Dutch farmers file compensation suit in court
By Alex Bell
22 October 2010
Thirteen former commercial farmers of Dutch origin, whose farms were seized
by Robert Mugabe’s government, have approached a court in America in an
attempt to seek compensation for the losses.
The group is trying to get the court to seize funds and assets from four
State owned companies, namely the Minerals Marketing Corporation of
Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, the Industrial
Development Corporation of Zimbabwe and Agribank. The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe has also been named in the court application.
The 13 farmers filed an application in a New York court seeking compensation
for their farms and movable assets they value at more than 10 million euros.
The state owned companies have jointly countered the application saying they
are not an extension of the government and are stand-alone entities.
The court action by the Dutch farmers comes after they were granted an award
by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in
Washington, last year. The farmers then sought compensation from the
government through the Ministry of Finance. But last October, Finance
Minister Tendai Biti wrote to them saying the country did not have the
money.
The farms in question were acquired between 2001 and 2003 as part of Mugabe’s
land grab campaign, and the seizures were a direct contravention of the
bilateral investment protection agreement signed by the Netherlands and
Zimbabwe in 1996.
John Worsley-Worswick from Justice for Agriculture (JAG) said that the
government has been given more than enough time to compensate the farmers
and are effectively in contempt of court. The JAG official said farmers are
left with no choice by to seek international assistance for redress, and
added JAG fully supports these efforts.