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
Hide the following 15 comments
Corruption and Racism
31.05.2006 09:34
I was quite surprised by the similarity between the old South Africa and Zambia in the behaviour of some of the white expatriates of Zimbabwean and South African origin. Considering the years of bitter guerrilla war and freedom fighting in that part of the world attitudes have changed little. I sensed a lot of resentment from most of the educated Africans (I use the word educated as opposed to middle class- as the social structure seemd to me to be of either very wealthy or extremely poor without an in between).
I am not saying the contents of the article from Mr Moyo are true or not I am merely stating that I recognise some of the issues raised from my recent visit. What struck me though was the fact that it seemed in general that no one accountable for anything they were responsible for either in private or public life. If my assumnptions are correct, could this have led to the management of Mpongwe taking advantage of the situation if indeed they are doing the things Mr Moyo alleges.
The fact that Mr Moyo has had no joy from his requests and I am assuming Mr Moyo has his facts, points to the statement I made earlier about accountability. Should the rest the world then be the Policeman for every nation's inability to manage it's affairs.? The fact that government officials seem uninterested suggests that they are the cause and there is no hope unless there is a change of governement. Will this change anything though?
Bwalya
DFID EVENTUALLY GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME AGAIN
14.06.2006 00:10
Simba Moyo
e-mail:
smbmoyo@yahoo.co.uk
I AGREE WITH SIMBA
03.07.2006 10:10
ANONYMOUS
WHY TURN A BLIND EYE TO SOMETHING SO OBVIOUS
17.07.2006 12:08
It appears Mpongwe Development Company really is up for sale, word is South African farmers have already been to the estate and are in the process of buying it most likely the estate will be divided and then sold. Really is this what the people behind the financing of MDC had in mind or maybe they just didn’t care about what this MDC management had up their sleeves ? Is that why all that money was injected into MDC over the past 20 to 30 years? So that some rich farmers could buy the estate, I think something went terribly wrong along the way. In the last five years of the current MDC management the company has lost face with the locals, were it was a friend that provided well paying jobs and good working conditions it has become exploitative of cheap African labour and intolerant to the concerns of the people. Is this what the creators of Mpongwe had in mind, did they ever think that their great accomplishments would fall into the uncaring and selfish hands of the current management..
Mpongwe development company has long been the pride of Zambia- a farm that has an area of 16 000 Ha and is highly mechanised with very fertile soil giving yields of 8 to 9 tonnes per hectare for wheat, 9 to 12 tonnes for maize, 3 to 4 tonnes for soya beans. This company had a strong foundation already laid by previous managements what honestly went wrong? Its almost like certain bad decisions were made deliberately so that the estate would then be sold ! A crime committed 10 years ago is as good as a crime committed yesterday as such the people responsible for allowing the company to be mismanaged, allowing a sell out that wasn’t even advertised to the Zambian people to take place without any due consideration of how this will affect the people of Mpongwe are just as guilty of mismanaging the place as the MDC management. In time (whether it this year or 5 years from now) I am confident that an independent enquiry will be launched (not by DFID of course) and all who took part in this shameful act of greed, indifference, intolerance, racism and corruption will be known to the world.
Why turn a blind eye to something that is so obvious?
Simba
Why wont someone investigate
05.09.2006 16:36
Lawrence
I Disagree
06.09.2006 10:17
I have said it before I do not want to see the same situation we have in Zimbabwe, the Zambian government like most African governments do things for their own interests, right now it is within their interest not to address these issues but a time will come when they will have to and they will most likely use these reasons to fuel their actions and that would not be a good thing. Such a scenerio could be avoided if the stakeholders-the funders and the Zambian Govt. act now and investigate the people running the estate.
Simba
Please contact me if you are a victim of MDC's mismanagement
27.10.2006 10:57
If something is to be done in the future even after the estate is sold and these people think they have gotten away with the act send over your story so that justice can prevail and the estate can be brought back to its former position as a true partner in development.
Dont be silent, say something.
Simba
e-mail:
smbmoyo@yahoo.co.uk
PROBLEMS HAVE BEGUN
23.02.2007 13:25
Simba
e-mail:
smbmoyo@yahoo.co.uk
Its sad
26.02.2007 14:57
I was forwarded a copy of this article and indeed after finding out from some colleagues in Zambia as to the accuracy of the allegations I can sadly say that Simba Mayo is correct.
I thank indymedia for this article and their efforts in trying to make this issue known.
Gary
File an injunction
18.03.2007 16:33
Observer
Actis
29.10.2007 15:35
The Chief Executive of Alexander Forbes a Mr Peter Moyo was undermined by Actis who installed a white executive chairman Bruce Cameron to oversee his work. This has been criticised by various groups in SA such as the Black Management Forum
Sherman
More Comments are needed
13.11.2007 19:00
Lastly as i have said and keep on saying especially to peolple in Zambia please dont just read the article make a comment anything would be great.
Thanks
Simba
Mpongwe's Crisis
03.12.2007 19:03
machining jobs are brought all the way from there. To the best of my knowledge, an estate
of that size should have a basic tool, and fitting workshop and only major work should be contracted.
The owner of this Ndola based company is white and is personal friends with at least two of the big shots from ACTIS that are running MDC. It appears to me that there is to be no more
investment in MDC but rather some sort of plunder for personal gain.
I was made aware of the name of one of the white farmers whose family intended to buy off the Munkumpu estate. He was apparently one of the victims of Robert Mugabe's wrath in Zimbabwe.
It is easy to see from the sort of work we are receiving that the entire support structure for the estate is being discarded and maybe there one day will no longer be any schools or clinics at MDC.
Jason Mbewe
e-mail:
chabota_z@yahoo.com
TRUE
22.02.2008 19:41
it remains to be seen whether the new owners will take a more proactive approach to doing business by involveing the community in m ore of the crucial decisons.
Anon
Now there is talk of a food crisis!
04.06.2008 19:27
Simba
e-mail:
smbmoyo@yahoo.co.uk