Government in talks on BIPPA farms

GOVERNMENT will soon approach Parliament with new Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs) as it seeks to find common ground with countries who might have lost farms for various reasons, an official has said.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Secretary Ambassador James Manzou said discussions between Government and aggrieved countries were going on smoothly.

Ambassador Manzou said this on Wednesday while giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Makonde MP Cde Kindness Paradza (ZANU-PF). Gokwe Mapfungautsi legislator Cde Tawanda Karikoga (ZANU-PF) had asked what Government was doing on BIPPA farms.

“I would want to inform you that this is one of the areas we are engaged with, particular countries with which we have BIPPAs, which feel aggrieved,” said Ambassador Manzou.

“We have engaged countries like the Netherlands, an understanding is already being reached in terms of how we are going to deal with these BIPPA farms. This understanding has been in form of compensation, where there is no compensation, we would opt for another piece of land. The important point is that the Government is fully aware. This is why also there will be new BIPPAs that would be coming to Parliament.”

Ambassador Manzou said they were in constant engagement with missions accredited to Zimbabwe, giving them updates on political developments in the country.