Minister Masuka Defends BIPPA Farm Returns, Says Land Reform Remains Irreversible

The Government has dismissed claims that the return of 67 farms protected under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPA) marks a reversal of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, with authorities stressing that the move is part of resolving legal obligations and strengthening the country’s land tenure framework.

Acting Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and water resource Dr Anxious Masuka, on Wednesday directly addressed the misconception, explaining that the return of BIPPA properties is a narrowly defined legal and constitutional obligation not a policy shift back to the pre-2000 era.

“The BIPPA process is about settling outstanding legal claims and compensating investments protected by bilateral treaties, it does not open the floodgates for the return of all former white farms, the land reform programme remains irreversible,” he said.

The Minister confirmed that while 67 properties covered under BIPPA will be returned to their previous owners, this represents a fraction of the total land under the programme and is being done strictly within the framework of Zimbabwean law and international investment obligations.

The development comes at a time when the government is simultaneously granting secure tenure to a staggering 450,000 black farmers under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

According to the Minister, in terms of the Constitution Sections 289, 293, and 295, the government will provide permits, leases, and offer letters to 360,000 A1 farmers 23,500 A2 farmers Over 70,000 old resettlement farmers.

In addition to these, the government is correcting historical and administrative errors that have fuelled the reversal myth. Authorities are returning 840 farms that were wrongly gazetted but which rightfully belong to black farmers.

In another move that reinforces the government’s commitment to indigenous ownership, some 10,000 Matenganyika farms whose beneficiaries were given leases before 1980 will now finally receive title deeds.

For the 409 former farm owners who have remained on their properties due to long-standing peaceful co-existence with new owners, the government has crafted a specific solution that stops short of outright reversal. These individuals will now be allowed to purchase the properties they occupy.