MASVINGO REGION
REPORT TO CONGRESS 2009
Another year has come and gone so fast and although much has happened in the country itself on the political front we still find ourselves inexactly the same position, if not worse. It just seems so incredibly destructive that at a time of such great economic crisis and of huge food shortages that experienced farmers within our industry are being harassed and dragged through the courts in order to convict them as well as evicting them without any form of compensation from their homes and preventing them from being part of the solution. Our farmers, their families and their farm workers and their families have been subjected to unmitigated and unjustified persecution for all of this current year. Whilst many, like Digby and Jess Nesbitt have shown great fortitude and stood up to defend their human rights in the court it has taken its toll on our dwindling community that was once so proud and productive. Many others have been forced through circumstance to go to ground and avoid persecution. Whilst our humble community has been torn apart by such an inhumane, racist and callous persecution we need to thank Digby and Jess and their legal team for the valuable legal precedent which they have set for the benefit of other embattled farming communities around the country. They are also part of the Mike Campbell group which courageously took their case to the Southern African Development Community Tribunal in Windhoek last year to seek arbitration on the lethal effects of amendment Number 17 to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which effectively withdrew our constitutional rights to argue land matters in the Zimbabwean Courts. We owe them a great vote of thanks for their incredible fortitude and determination especially under the incredible pressure they have endured for such a long period and the illnesses they, and especially Jess, are suffering as a consequence. The consequence of the continued persecutions has struck a death knell for the Chiredzi and Triangle outgrowers, who were pioneers in the sugar industry in the lowveld as new beneficiaries have been given the remaining green portions of their fields in the ongoing patronage system to award the alleged perpetrators of the political violence during the elections with an instant cash cow. Several of the remaining community and some farm supervisors (when the owner was not available at the time of the arrests) were incarcerated overnight and now face prosecution under the onerous Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act. Although a large cash injection has been proposed by a major donor to revamp the sugar industry this has caused huge controversy which has split the industry players as the scheme is perceived by some as supporting the beneficiaries who have taken over of the sugar farms and homes without any form or promise of compensation. Whilst one sugar community has all but been destroyed a new single producer has been allowed to enter the scene and (although it is thought to be completely impractical and impossible due to the current water availability) has embarked on a proposed 100,000ha sugar project for ethanol production on Nuanetsi Ranch. The same producer is together with Triangle Limited the only remaining major beef producers in the province as all other producers have lost more and more of their land available for grazing. Most of the other larger producers are leasing land all over the province and most have been forced out of the industry altogether. The only two pedigree breeders have also been forced to downsize considerably and are constantly under pressure of grazing and interference in their selected bulling by scrub bulls owned by alleged beneficiaries of their properties, which are being allowed to mix with the pedigree herds. Stocktheft has increased considerably over the last year as many of the stolen herds find their way across the border to the markets in Mozambique. It has often been suggested that civil servants and police are often part of the stocktheft ring due to their low salaries and the super-hyperinflation which haunted the Zimbabwe dollar. Most wildlife producers in the conservancies have drifted further away from the union as some feel that they no longer fall under agriculture as such and fall under the tourism ministry. Many may have also felt intimidated by threats from the powers that be not to align themselves with the union, which has been a strategy used in an attempt to destroy all unions since 2000. We urge the conservancies to look past this and they would be welcome to come back into the union as we need to be united to face the common threat, which is no different whether a property is classified under either tourism or agriculture. We have just recently seen the patronage system now be applied to properties in the conservancies as well over 30 new beneficiaries were forced to become new partners on the various properties within the conservancies. This has come in a year in which numbers of hunting clients was significantly reduced, in part due to the international economic recession. Although we were blessed with an incredible rainy season this year our sector was unable to grow any significant crops at all due to political pressures. However, I continue to be optimistic that we are going to get through all of this with the help of God, although we will never get back to a situation of exactly how things were pre 2000 and the so-called land reform programme. When is this going to happen? This is the million dollar question because all will be determined by the conduct and attitude of our politicians who lead us and right now there does not appear to be the political will to put an end to the conflict over land as it is still being used merely as a political tool for the forthcoming elections. As farmers we have been extremely patient but we just yearn to be able to get back to our normal trade and to move forward. In our province the people who have stuck it out and endured the pressure, persecution and hardships have done so to earn our huge respect on their innovative methods of survival. It has not been easy and there have been many casualties like the late Shirley Naude. We bow our heads and salute such people and their families for their loss. But let us not forget those who are still enduring the pain and hardships every single day as they do everything in their power to keep hold of what little remains of their homes and investments. At the union where I have represented you we have been resolute that the rule of law and property rights need to be reinstated and respected before we are able to move forward – or in any direction for that matter. We are fortunate that we have representation at both national, regional and international levels were we have found growing support on all these issues. The present delays in moving forward to achieve either restitution to get us back farming again or compensation for those that so desire have been caused in the political arena, which is completely out of our sphere of control. However, we are slowly seeing the results of some of our positive influence over the powers that be to face the reality and to take politics out of the equation so the matter can be resolved from a business and ethical point of view. We have also been concentrating on bringing all the splintered groups of farmers together under one roof and can safely say that we have achieved great success in this and it has been a great pleasure working together with our old friends again instead of fighting against each other. I feel that it won’t be very long before you see some positive results from this unity. For myself I have been spending most of my time in head office helping where I can and whilst I no longer find it safe to return home like many other persecuted farmers I at least have the job satisfaction of what I am achieving up here on a daily basis. What have I been doing? Well it would take pages to cover all of that so come and see me up here, but what I can say is that Masvingo Province has been the most represented in Harare over the last few years through Trevor Gifford (Buffalo Range), Hendrik Olivier (Mateke Hills), Jean Simon (Cawood) and myself, in my own humble way. I must apologise that we have not managed to come down and speak to individuals for a while as things have been extremely hectic especially as most of us are either in court or else being hunted by the law – for farming. We sincerely hope that we will be able to tour the country to speak to the farmers in the very near future though. The union itself has received a substantial monetary injection for capacity building which will assist us in moving forward and in preparedness for when the time comes to get going again. Although we have budgeted to reopen our regional offices, Masvingo will initially be represented from either Gweru or Mutare until our office is reopened. I therefore urge all farmers to get going again with their farmers’ associations where possible in order to feed your problems and solutions up to Harare for us to advise or to action. At this time of year we should be holding our AGM but when discussing the matter with your local leadership it would be impractical at the moment. My current term of office expires at Congress on 4th and 5th April so a proxy vote was sent out on the email system for our province to decide their new leadership for the 2010 season. I had been hoping to bring in some younger blood under my wing but sadly this has not happened. Perhaps once the situation stabilises they will feel freer to volunteer and commit themselves. I have therefore been inviting various members from Masvingo, Gutu, Chiredzi and Mwenezi to attend several CFU Councils with me. I am sure those people have also been reporting back to you. Trevor Gifford’s term will also expire at Congress and so far we will be nominating Deon Theron as President and Charlie Taffs as Vice President. There are a few other nominations for second Vice President which has not been concluded as yet. I would be please to hear your opinions as my vote at Congress should represent your opinions on the next leadership of the union. Trevor has done an incredible job during his term and we owe him a huge vote of thanks, especially as he and all your leadership have had to endure similar problems on their own farms as well as being subjected to continued persecution in the courts. None of us have been immune to this. Although our farmers’ associations are virtually in mothballs it has been appreciated that when there has been time of crisis that our local leadership and structures have been incredibly useful. For this I sincerely thank Francois, Jaco and Gary and their families. Having been part of the Head Office team for a while now I am now very much more aware of exactly what does go on behind the scenes up here. Although you cannot see how they operate from where you are I can assure you that apart from trying to resolve their own problems and keep their businesses running the work up here is 24/7 and it has been a pleasure working with such a committed and dedicate bunch of people. I wish to sincerely thank all the dedicated team and in particular Trevor Gifford, Deon Theron, Charlie Taffs, Hendrik Olivier – and not forgetting Jean Simon whose constant financial wizardry is irreplaceable. Of course we cannot forget to recognise the commitment and support afforded by the families of the above and especially to my own family who have supported my ongoing commitment on your behalf. Thank you M Clark(Masvingo Regional Chairman)17 July 2009