Commonwealth Development Company (CDC) is the Investment partner of the Donor Fund for International Development (DFID). CDC owns an agribusiness company called Mpongwe Development Company that has been involved in corrupt practices,racism and land disputes.
Introduction :
I have for some time now been trying to air my concerns on a matter that has to do with corruption, racism, intolerance and above all a clear picture of the danger foreign investment in Africa can lead to when handled by the wrong people. I have sent emails, letters, made phone calls but have not been successful in getting any constructive response.
Location and Brief Background :
My complaint has to do with an organisation called Mpongwe Development Company based in the Copperbelt province of Zambia (Southern Africa next to Zimbabwe). Throughout the mideighties to the late nineties this company was run directly by the Commonwealth Development Company and greatly contributed to Agricultural production in Zambia by growing wheat, maize, soya beans and coffee. It is one of the biggest highly mechanised farming estates in Africa and has an estimated area of 16 000 hectares with a 14 km long irrigation canal, which at one time was the longest in Africa.
The organisation that owns it for reasons I believe have to do with increasing efficiency and profits handed over the running of the company to a project Management group called ACTIS which coincidentally is comprised mostly of former Commonwealth Development Company Executives. They in turn appointed white South Africans and Zimbabweans to run to estate.
Racism and Mismanagement
What has been seen since is the appointment of unqualified white Zimbabweans and South Africans to important positions in the company at the expense of many qualified Zambians, movement restrictions by villagers who are now being forced to go right round the huge estate in order to move between their villages and farms, workers are subjected to verbal abuse by their white managers, there is an increase in the number of accidents as a result of poor planning by these managers, neighbouring villagers are denied access to the company clinic, schools and market, important engineering and business contracts are awarded to white South Africans and Zimbabweans and there have been disputes between neighbouring villagers and the company over land, the most recent one resulting in the eviction of peasant farmers who had lived on the land they were evicted from for more than 5 years.
Corruption :
The only time government officials come to the estate is to meet up with the Mpongwe Development Company CEO behind closed doors and then drive off with smiles on their faces. The current government in Zambia give a picture that they are fighting corruption but are quick to offer support to these kind of investors who do not have the slightest regard for the country's labour laws, environmental laws, tender procedures and do not care at all about service to the local community.
At the moment there are rumours that the current Mpongwe management are scheming a management buy out of one the farms on the estate (the estate is comprised of 4 main farms-Nampamba, Munkumpo, Chambatata and Kampemba, total area of all 4 is about 16 000 hectares)-Munkumpo farm which has an area of 4000 hectares, has mechanised irrigation systems, combine harvesters, state of the art GPS equipped John Deere tractors, grain storage facilities… to make a long story short there is some very impressive machinery and infrastructure at stake here.
DFID’s Involvement :
What is even more interesting about this is the fact that the British government through the Donor Fund for International Development own CDC and ultimately Mpongwe Development Company. The basis on which these companies were established was to provide a sustainable form of development in the countries they were set up and not to be profit seeking multinational companies that go as far as abusing the fundamental rights of human beings. If you were to look up DFID on the internet and check the activities they have in Zambia one would be more than impressed.
“Thanks to continued investment from CDC - the private sector development arm of DFID - Mpongwe employs 560 staff and provides substantial benefits to the local community. These include: An active social responsibility programme that includes substantial financial support for local schools and medical facilities. Thousands of seasonal jobs at harvest-time. New and improved housing, shops and a bank.” www.dfid.gov.uk/casestudies/files/africa/zambia-cdc.asp
The site is correct about one thing though and that is they do provide seasonal jobs however they haven’t mentioned the deplorable conditions in which many of these people live in. No electricity and clean water for the majority of the workers. The management appears to be more concerned with erecting electric fences round all houses occupied by white managers. They also happened to have left out the fact that these seasonal workers are paid as little as £20 a month and are not provided any form of protective clothing, are exposed to dangerous chemicals, are given no shelter at all during the rainy season (the management has never bothered to erect even simple grass thatched rain shelters). This kind of attitude from the Mpongwe management is unacceptable especially when you look at the amount of funds that have been given to them by CDC. In no way is this an issue race I personally have no problem with who runs the estate the only thing is a lot of the management being whites from Zimbabwe and South Africa have a negative attitude toward black Zambians, maybe they feel they cant trust us because of what happened to some of them in Zimbabwe and therefore they chose to build walls and erect fences that are both visible and invisible.
http://www.times.co.zm/sunday/news/viewnews.cgi?category=7&id=1109449367
Consequences for the Future :
What I fear the most is if this issue is not addressed now by the parties concerned we may have a situation similar to that in Zimbabwe. Ignoring the problems now will make things worse for the future. What happens if another government in Zambia takes over or if the present government becomes less tolerant to these kind of investors as a result of political pressure from opposition parties and they begin to see things differently and they then decide to go the way Zimbabwe did by grabbing the farms? That would be a disaster, the leadership in Zimbabwe made a terrible mistake in the way they handled the land issue and right now Zimbabweans are suffering because of that. My people need jobs, the farms need to continue producing food, a lot of money spent on such an important project will just go to waste if the same thing happens in Zambia. My country needs investment however not when it is run by such people.
Still In favour of CDC Management :
I truly believe in the ideals under which Mpongwe Development Company then under the direct control of CDC was formed which are basically to create a form of sustainable development in third world countries but the direction taken by ACTIS and its appointed Mpongwe management are bringing to rot all the great achievements accomplished in the 80’s and 90’s by previous managements. In a nut shell it is a disaster to have ACTIS run Mpongwe, CDC should assume full control of the project with a more humane approach if Mpongwe Development Company is to remain a big producer of Agricultural produce in Zambia and help improve food security in the country.
Request for an Independent Investigation :
I think DFID may not have a clear understanding of the actual situation on the ground and how their funds are being misused by the people they’ve entrusted to manage this huge estate. The ACTIS appointed Mpongwe management are more concerned in taking expensive holidays, building new mansions, erecting electric fences round their houses, buying expensive cars and giving themselves and friends expensive contracts. I have sent emails to the DFID on several occasions but have been told they will handle the issue by having an enquiry made of Mpongwe Development Company through CDC appointed Project Mangagers, ACTIS. I was told this 3 months ago and nothing at all has been done to that effect as far as I know for I haven’t received any further correspondence. My only request is for the corruption and the disregard of my people by both Zambian politicians and these bad investors to be known to the world through the carrying out of an independent investigation
I have for some time now been trying to air my concerns on a matter that has to do with corruption, racism, intolerance and above all a clear picture of the danger foreign investment in Africa can lead to when handled by the wrong people. I have sent emails, letters, made phone calls but have not been successful in getting any constructive response.
Location and Brief Background :
My complaint has to do with an organisation called Mpongwe Development Company based in the Copperbelt province of Zambia (Southern Africa next to Zimbabwe). Throughout the mideighties to the late nineties this company was run directly by the Commonwealth Development Company and greatly contributed to Agricultural production in Zambia by growing wheat, maize, soya beans and coffee. It is one of the biggest highly mechanised farming estates in Africa and has an estimated area of 16 000 hectares with a 14 km long irrigation canal, which at one time was the longest in Africa.
The organisation that owns it for reasons I believe have to do with increasing efficiency and profits handed over the running of the company to a project Management group called ACTIS which coincidentally is comprised mostly of former Commonwealth Development Company Executives. They in turn appointed white South Africans and Zimbabweans to run to estate.
Racism and Mismanagement
What has been seen since is the appointment of unqualified white Zimbabweans and South Africans to important positions in the company at the expense of many qualified Zambians, movement restrictions by villagers who are now being forced to go right round the huge estate in order to move between their villages and farms, workers are subjected to verbal abuse by their white managers, there is an increase in the number of accidents as a result of poor planning by these managers, neighbouring villagers are denied access to the company clinic, schools and market, important engineering and business contracts are awarded to white South Africans and Zimbabweans and there have been disputes between neighbouring villagers and the company over land, the most recent one resulting in the eviction of peasant farmers who had lived on the land they were evicted from for more than 5 years.
Corruption :
The only time government officials come to the estate is to meet up with the Mpongwe Development Company CEO behind closed doors and then drive off with smiles on their faces. The current government in Zambia give a picture that they are fighting corruption but are quick to offer support to these kind of investors who do not have the slightest regard for the country's labour laws, environmental laws, tender procedures and do not care at all about service to the local community.
At the moment there are rumours that the current Mpongwe management are scheming a management buy out of one the farms on the estate (the estate is comprised of 4 main farms-Nampamba, Munkumpo, Chambatata and Kampemba, total area of all 4 is about 16 000 hectares)-Munkumpo farm which has an area of 4000 hectares, has mechanised irrigation systems, combine harvesters, state of the art GPS equipped John Deere tractors, grain storage facilities… to make a long story short there is some very impressive machinery and infrastructure at stake here.
DFID’s Involvement :
What is even more interesting about this is the fact that the British government through the Donor Fund for International Development own CDC and ultimately Mpongwe Development Company. The basis on which these companies were established was to provide a sustainable form of development in the countries they were set up and not to be profit seeking multinational companies that go as far as abusing the fundamental rights of human beings. If you were to look up DFID on the internet and check the activities they have in Zambia one would be more than impressed.
“Thanks to continued investment from CDC - the private sector development arm of DFID - Mpongwe employs 560 staff and provides substantial benefits to the local community. These include: An active social responsibility programme that includes substantial financial support for local schools and medical facilities. Thousands of seasonal jobs at harvest-time. New and improved housing, shops and a bank.” www.dfid.gov.uk/casestudies/files/africa/zambia-cdc.asp
The site is correct about one thing though and that is they do provide seasonal jobs however they haven’t mentioned the deplorable conditions in which many of these people live in. No electricity and clean water for the majority of the workers. The management appears to be more concerned with erecting electric fences round all houses occupied by white managers. They also happened to have left out the fact that these seasonal workers are paid as little as £20 a month and are not provided any form of protective clothing, are exposed to dangerous chemicals, are given no shelter at all during the rainy season (the management has never bothered to erect even simple grass thatched rain shelters). This kind of attitude from the Mpongwe management is unacceptable especially when you look at the amount of funds that have been given to them by CDC. In no way is this an issue race I personally have no problem with who runs the estate the only thing is a lot of the management being whites from Zimbabwe and South Africa have a negative attitude toward black Zambians, maybe they feel they cant trust us because of what happened to some of them in Zimbabwe and therefore they chose to build walls and erect fences that are both visible and invisible.
http://www.times.co.zm/sunday/news/viewnews.cgi?category=7&id=1109449367 Consequences for the Future :
What I fear the most is if this issue is not addressed now by the parties concerned we may have a situation similar to that in Zimbabwe. Ignoring the problems now will make things worse for the future. What happens if another government in Zambia takes over or if the present government becomes less tolerant to these kind of investors as a result of political pressure from opposition parties and they begin to see things differently and they then decide to go the way Zimbabwe did by grabbing the farms? That would be a disaster, the leadership in Zimbabwe made a terrible mistake in the way they handled the land issue and right now Zimbabweans are suffering because of that. My people need jobs, the farms need to continue producing food, a lot of money spent on such an important project will just go to waste if the same thing happens in Zambia. My country needs investment however not when it is run by such people.
Still In favour of CDC Management :
I truly believe in the ideals under which Mpongwe Development Company then under the direct control of CDC was formed which are basically to create a form of sustainable development in third world countries but the direction taken by ACTIS and its appointed Mpongwe management are bringing to rot all the great achievements accomplished in the 80’s and 90’s by previous managements. In a nut shell it is a disaster to have ACTIS run Mpongwe, CDC should assume full control of the project with a more humane approach if Mpongwe Development Company is to remain a big producer of Agricultural produce in Zambia and help improve food security in the country.
Request for an Independent Investigation :
I think DFID may not have a clear understanding of the actual situation on the ground and how their funds are being misused by the people they’ve entrusted to manage this huge estate. The ACTIS appointed Mpongwe management are more concerned in taking expensive holidays, building new mansions, erecting electric fences round their houses, buying expensive cars and giving themselves and friends expensive contracts. I have sent emails to the DFID on several occasions but have been told they will handle the issue by having an enquiry made of Mpongwe Development Company through CDC appointed Project Mangagers, ACTIS. I was told this 3 months ago and nothing at all has been done to that effect as far as I know for I haven’t received any further correspondence. My only request is for the corruption and the disregard of my people by both Zambian politicians and these bad investors to be known to the world through the carrying out of an independent investigation
e-mail:
Comments
Display the following 15 comments