23 April 2010  

 

EXECUTIVE NEWS

 

This week has been a very active one in terms of ongoing meetings with various stakeholders and interested parties in which much interest is being shown on our proposal and vision of the way forward for agriculture in Zimbabwe. Although with all such sensitive meetings it is difficult to make comment on the full impact or results of the meetings we remain very confident that we are slowly making very significant progress.

 

Work around the country has been adversely affected by the prolonged load-shedding by ZESA which once again made us truly appreciative of the donation from AgriSA 18 months ago of the generator which is so often in use at the Union headquarters. This was especially so when it had to undergo some routine maintenance on a day when we had no power from the ZESA grid, which left us without power for a whole day.

 

The constant power cuts also seriously affect the telephone communication system in the building, especially the general numbers used on the switchboard. Should callers receive a constant ring tone when calling the switchboard numbers, during office hours, then they should be aware that we are not receiving your call. The caller should then either try a direct line or else an individual’s cellphone numbers.  From next week the Union has activated a cellphone which will be kept at Reception only to leave messages in the event of power failures.  The number is 0912 434 921.

 

As part of our proactive campaign of the promotion of agriculture, and the Union, we have taken up a stand at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, in Bulawayo this week to which visitors to the show have shown a great deal of interest.

 

The main Respondent in our CFU case in the High Court of Zimbabwe, which covers the matter of the payment of compensation, has responded by stating that he is not opposing our application but merely requesting 30 days grace period for the process to be dealt with.

 

With regard to our application to the Supreme Court for a moratorium on the continued prosecutions and evictions the 1^st Respondent’s rather lengthy Responding Affidavit has been received in time. We have 10 days in which to respond accordingly after which the case will be set down for hearing in the court.

 

We have received notification that the application on the Gramara P/L case in SADC Tribunal, which was previously delayed by an error in the registration process and misunderstanding has now been set down to be heard on 1 June 2010 in Windhoek.

 

It is noted that there have been a few more properties listed for acquisition in today’s newspaper. These are currently being copied and will be forwarded on the email later today. Whenever farms are listed, there is usually an individual beneficiary who is after a particular property or else the fact that the property has not been listed in the Gazette has been used in a farmer’s defence, either in court or elsewhere.

 

Although we have some 5 million hectares of agricultural land registered for valuation with the Valuation Consortium we are constantly coming across more farm owners whose properties are not yet registered. We have recently acquired a copy of the cadastral map which has been generated from the Valuation Consortium’s computer and is overlaid with a colour coding which distinguishes which properties have been listed and those which have not etc.

 

Farm owners are welcome to come in to either check the map or else from our updated list of properties currently registered. The map clearly indicates which of your neighbours may also not be registered.

 

It is absolutely essential that all farm owners cooperate in this exercise to ensure that their property/ies are all registered as full cooperation in this exercise will no doubt speed up the process of both compensation and the agricultural recovery programme. At the moment the CFU is covering the cost.

 

The cost of farmer’s legal defences when they are being prosecuted under the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act is hitting a few farmers very hard, especially some of those who no longer have an income. At the Union we are constantly receiving requests for financial assistance to help cover those expenses and although we have helped where we can we have currently well exceeded our small budget to cover such expenses.

 

This leads us to again consider proposals which were put on the table at our last CFU Council meeting at which the point was made that we need to encourage all the previous 4 500 members to come back on board en masse and to pay their membership dues honestly. Failing this, perhaps we should put out an appeal for financial support in the form of a Legal Fund to which everyone should be asked to pay, say an additional US$100.

 

In just under one month’s time, on 20^th May 2010, we are hosting the Robin Banks evening at the Celebration Centre in Harare. Robin has been hailed as one of the greatest motivational speakers in the world and we would like to encourage everyone to make an effort to attend as his speech is very light hearted and down to earth and just what we need to lift our spirits a little bit in the current unsettling environment in which we live.

 

The tickets for the show are available at the Union as well as from all our Councillors who have each been given a book of tickets to sell. It should be a fun evening for all and the tickets only cost US$20 each with a small portion going to the Union.

 

We hope to see you all there and please do your bit to advertise the event to all your friends, whether they are farmers or not.

 

Everybody should please note that on 27 April 2010 the NetOne prefix number changes from 011- to 0172-. May we suggest that you alter your directory lists accordingly.

 

You should also note that as from the 30 April 2010 all CFU email addresses ending with @cfu.co.zw will cease to exist. Please change any such addresses in your email address book to end with @cfuzim.org to ensure that your emails will get through without delay.

 

In the CFU Calling dated 09 April 2010 the Union omitted to congratulate one of the Union’s past Presidents Mr Doug Taylor-Freeme on being re-elected as President for SACAU.  The Union hereby wishes him well in his next term.

 

 

ARAC INFORMATION

 

We have witnessed in the last week the thirtieth anniversary of Zimbabwe’s independence; for most of us a moment of reflection yields mixed feelings. The early promise of reconciliation overshadowed by the events of the last ten years.

 

We remember the early anxiety right across the farming sector which gradually disappeared with growing investments and confidence in commercial agriculture; we lived to an extent without understanding fully the fragile roots of that recovery. We were shocked and traumatized when ten years ago the murders of both farmers and farm workers bore witness to a betrayed vision of inclusion. The last decade has challenged many paradigms and for those of us who have lost we ask perhaps why, but also in searching for a way forward we ask how?

In the ARAC office we have been struck by how much words and their use can rifle emotions. Words like “recovery”, “compensation” and “restitution” are all loaded. In the context of Zimbabwe they are particularly so. Essentially we are challenged to see in the land reform programme an attempt to deal with some of the unsettled root issues of the country’s struggle for independence, the grievances over land were at the heart of that struggle and the failure to deal with that conclusively has left our constituency pawn in an old nationalist agenda justifying their actions under the guise of “restitution”.  National debate on the form of that “national restitution” and its unaccountable dispersion to individuals on the basis of patronage or birthright is far from over.

 

Our task is to help restore the nations enduring hope in recovery and in that process restore dignity, well being and inclusion for our constituency. No policy based on exclusion has ever stood the test of time and we look for the realization that “restitution” , ”compensation” and “recovery” are all possible and can be achieved to the betterment of all Zimbabweans and our international partners.

 

For further information contact Shayne or Ben at [email protected] or phone +263 4 309800/19 ext 249 or +263 4 309867

 

LABOUR (from the desks of Tongai Marodza/Mike Clark)

 

WAGES AND BACK PAYMENTS

 

Below is the recent agreement made on wages.

 

Members are here by advised that on the issue of back payments the Union is working vigorously to make sure the interest of members is well protected. We believe we are no longer operating in an inflationary environment therefore there is no justification for NEC to come up with an agreement with back payments. NEC agreement is also misleading as l have spoken to Mr Chikunda who purports to be representing ALB and he confirms to me that he didn’t attend the meeting but ALB’s name is appearing on the agreement.

 

It has also come to our attention that the NEC agents are forcing employers to implement the above agreement in particular payments of back payment.  Please be advised that in terms of the NEC Collective Bargaining Agreement Statutory Instrument 323 of 1993 a collective Bargaining Agreement should be approved by the Minister to become lawful. In the event that you are being forced to pay the back payments please refer NEC to the under signed or Marc Carrie Wilson at CFU.

 

The NEC Agriculture comprising the Social Parties that is GAPWUZ, HGAPWUZ on the one side and ZAEO, ALB, HPC, ZFU and ZCFU on the other, have agreed on wages for  General Agriculture Sector effective 01 September 2009 to 31 September 2010 as follows:

 

GENERAL AGRICULT WAGES	AUG 2009	SEP 2009	OCT 2009	NOV 2009	DEC 2009	JAN 2010	FEB 2010
GRADE	USD	USD	USD	USD	USD	USD	USD
A1	32.00	44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00
A2	32.83	47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52
A3	33.73	51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32
B1	34.70	55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43
B2	35.75	59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87
B3	36.88	64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65
B4	38.10	69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82
B5	39.42	75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40
C1	40.85	81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44
C2	42.39	87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96

MAR 2010	APR 2010	MAY 2010	JUN 2010	JUL 2009	AUG 2010	SEP 2010
USD	USD	USD	USD	USD	USD	USD
44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00	44.00
47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52	47.52
51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32	51.32
55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43	55.43
59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87	59.87
64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65	64.65
69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82	69.82
75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40	75.40
81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44	81.44
87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96	87.96

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALLOWANCES   FOR ALL SECTORS

ALLOWANCE	EFFECTIVE 01 FEBRUARY 2009
TRANSPORT	ACTUAL COST TO BE PAID BY EMPLOYER
ACCOMMODATION	US $ 4.00
FUEL	US $ 1.50
LIGHT	US $ 2.00

 

Exemptions

An employer can apply to the National Employment Council for an exemption or partial exemption from paying wages as set up in the above schedule, stating the reasons why that application should be considered.

 

AGRO/HORTICULTURE AND KAPENTA

 

The above sectors will be having its wage negotiations meeting on Friday 23 April 2010 and members will be advised accordingly of the outcome of these negotiations.  What transpired in the General Agriculture we are likely to have the same situation where there will be back payments. As a Union we need to make sure that this practice condemned once and for all and should not be repeated in future.

 

COMMODITY UPDATE

 

ZIMBABWE CROP PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION (from the desk of Richard Taylor)

 

Local as at 23 April 2010 US$

Commodity	GMB	Agrifoods	Intergrain	Staywell	Croplink
White Maize	325	285	270	280	290
Yellow Maize	325	285	260		280
Maize Bran	150	150		120	130
Soyabeans	350	395	350	395	400
Soyabean Meal		500			450
Sorghum	150
Wheat	400		360 360 (imported)	381 (imported)	420 (imported)
Wheat Bran		100			130
Sunflowers	110
Groundnuts	450 (unshelled)				650 (shelled)

 

South African Foreign Exchange (SAFEX) as at 23 April 2010

Commodity	Rand/Tonne	US$/Tonne	Import Parity Rand/Tonne	Import Parity US$/Tonne
White Maize	1110
Yellow Maize	1160
Wheat	2178
Soyabeans	2530
Sunflowers	3289

 

International Gulf

Commodity	US$/Tonne			Import Parity US$/Tonne
Wheat	204
Maize	164
Soyabeans	380

Source: South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS)

 

 

ACE COMMODITY REPORT 19 MARCH 2010

 

Wholesale prices in selected countries in East Africa are supplied by (RATIN) the Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network. Current prices are indicated below and are valid as 22 April 2010. (N.B. Changes shown are calculated on the basis of today’s prices against those previously recorded, which may not necessarily be the previous days).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following prices are also made available to us courtesy of SAFEX 20th April 2010

 

X VOLUME WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE USED TO CALCULATE THE MTM [$ per Tonne] Spot   20th April 2010 Futures         MTM  MAIZE     US No 2 Yellow         GULF 158.39 MAIZE May-10 CBOT 139.91 SOYA      US No 2 Yellow         GULF 376.07 MAIZE Jul-10 CBOT 143.77 WHEAT   US No 2 Soft Red       GULF 189.59 MAIZE Sep-10 CBOT 147.63 WHEAT   US No 1 Hard Red      GULF 198.96 SOYA Mar-10 CBOT 361.55         WHEAT May-10 CBOT 180.57

Oanda Live Exchange Rates MWK20.10 = 1 ZAR – down MWK148.870 = 1 US$ unchanged ZAR 7.38 = I US$ – up

 

Oanda Live Exchange Rates

MWK20.10 = 1 ZAR – down
MWK148.870 = 1 US$ unchanged
ZAR 7.38 = I US$ – up

 

 

COMMENTS AND VIEWS

Please let us know your comments and views on items contained within this issue or any other issues of CFU Calling by sending an email to us on [email protected]Disclaimer: This email and files transmitted with it contain confidential and privileged information and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please — do not read, disseminate, distribute, copy or take action in reliance on this email and- delete it immediately and arrange for the deletion thereof on your server, and- notify the administrator immediately. Any unauthorised, use duplication or interception of this e-mail or any files transmitted with it is expressly and strictly prohibited. No representation, guarantee or undertaking (expressed or implied) is made or given- As to the confidentiality or security of the e-mail system’ or as to the accuracy of the information in this email and any files transmitted with it is virus-free. No responsibility or liability is accepted for: the proper, complete transmission of the information contained in this email or any files transmitted with it or any delay in its receipt; or rising from or as a result of the use of or reliance on the content of this email or any files transmitted with it. Any views expressed in this email or any files transmitted with it are not necessarily the views of the Commercial Farmers’ Union. Queries regarding this email or any files transmitted with it should be directed to [email protected]. This disclaimer forms part of the content of this e-mail for purposes of section 11 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2002 (Act No. 25 of 2002).