§ The Duke of Montroseasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement what was the undertaking of the United Kingdom Government in respect of financing the purchase of commercial farms in Zimbabwe for African settlement; how much of the undertaking was fulfilled and at what cost; if it was not completed what were the reasons; and, if so, what is the potential cost of fulfilling the remainder of the undertaking. [HL3533]
§ Baroness AmosAt the Lancaster House Constitutional Conference in 1979, the UK Government undertook to assist with land resettlement alongside other donors. No specific sum was pledged, but £44 million has been provided to date; £20 million was offered through the 1981 Land Resettlement Grant, which was closed in 1996 with £3 million unspent because Government did not offer plans to use it; £27 million was provided during the 1980s as budgetary support to help the Zimbabwe Government meet its share of resettlement costs.
DFID has recently offered another £5 million to continue help for resettlement working through civil society and private sector initiatives as part of a total of £38 million development assistance. Further support for Government-led resettlement is dependent on a return to the rule of law, and to the principles agreed by government and donors at the 1998 Land Conference.