Mnangagwa, as part of his mission to reform Zimbabwe's tarnished reputation following the toppling of Mugabe, promised to pay the white farmers for infrastructure and improvements to the land - a package that came to $3. The hitch has been that Zimbabwe, grappling with a debt burden of a whopping $23bn, cannot afford to settle up with the former farmers. "Most farmers won't be around in 10 years' time," said one of them, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity - adding that there was no guarantee the government would be able to honour the future payments. Sponsored by Republican Brian Mast, who is chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, it has a key proviso that any future international funding be contingent on Zimbabwe settling the outstanding compensation for farmers within 12 months. The paper was compiled by the Zimbabwe Geological Survey and listed 12 sites around the country with possible commercial deposits. A former farmer in his 80s agreed that big offshore finance would have to be involved to foot the compensation bill quickly, though he said involving Trump was like walking a tightrope.