A Crazy World.
You realise the worlds gone crazy when the 'Greens' who used to be the tree hugging and bunny loving party of the past take up the some slogans of the National Front, the far right party of the 1980s." - Peter McSporran
Every now and again, you wonder what is happening in this world. Has it gone crazy? For me this past week was one of these. It started well with Doug McClymont posting some more anecdotes about the ‘good old days’ in Rhodesia and early Zimbabwe. But his piece sort of ended a bit depressingly, as he reminded us of the changes that soon started happening in rural areas following Zimbabwe’s independence. We can name many reasons for the deterioration of infrastructure, services and the economy in Zimbabwe but the global cause of the demise of the economy is down to greed and poor management overseen by a corrupt government.
Everything stems from these two, and in this case Doug pointed out the lack of maintenance of road drains and their off-take into and through lands which, up to independence, were well protected by contours and the rule of law. I say law as they were legally enforced. One of the things that filled me with awe during my war days was that it did not matter where I was walking, be it in cultivated lands in Mukambura or fields in M;udzi; there would always be well-maintained contours to protect the soil from erosion. Erosion in Africa is more prevalent than UK, mainly due to the pattern of its rainfall. While the rainfall in Scotland is ever-present, I probably cannot say that about present-day England, it is persistent but gentle while in much of Africa, especially in places like Zimbabwe, which are affected by the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, the rain comes in heavy storms with the equivalent of a month's rainfall in Scotland falling within an hour. If these downpours run freely into or through unprotected land, deep gullies appear instantly or, in other cases, crops are buried under sheet erosion. Crops are not only destroyed; the fields become so depleted of soil and so damaged they can no longer be deemed arable. All due to lack of management of the country’s natural resources. The commercial farming areas were self governed (policed) by their local Intensive Farming Areas (ICAs) which managed each farming area's natural resources advising and ensuring the farmers in their respective areas, they carried out good resource management. Many farmers would mark out their own contour lines in their fields or alternatively they could call on the services of CONEX, while CONEX also managed the Tribal Trust Lands, that is the land held under traditional title and farmed by smallholders. So Doug brought back some memories of what used to be, having been a CONEX officer himself.
I then read Angus Shaw's (Goose to friends) post. Goose was the ex-head of the Associated Press Office in Zimbabwe, and he touched on, among other things, the death of Zimbabwean tycoon Wicknell Chivayo. Chivayo can hardly be called a self-made multi-millionaire as he was more than ably assisted by political patronage. Further, in many of the papers or condolences, he was described as a businessman and philanthropist. Can you be called a philanthropist when you hand out ill-gotten gains for favour or adoration? Angus compared his wealth, and that of other ‘chefs’, black and white, who gained huge wealth in the independent country through political patronage and the corruption that accompanies it, with how most people survive from day to day. These people flaunt that wealth in their huge, not large, mansions and luxury cars. When I left Africa nine years ago, the Toyota Land Cruiser was the car of choice to declare your wealth and status; not today. Bentleys or a Rolls-Royce are the cars of choice now, which surely must struggle on that country's potholed roads. Mind you, they probably only use them in the city for their show of wealth; many, like Chivayo, use aircraft and helicopters for their longer journeys, the latter being the cause of his death when his helicopter crashed. Of course, rumours fly in that country about the real cause, whether it was an accident or not. I have no inkling of the truth; after all, it is a long way between Zimbabwe and Portugal.
When Rozanne recently visited Zimbabwe, she could not believe the number of luxury cars on Harare's streets, let alone the traffic. In fact, on several occasions it was so bad that she found it quicker to walk than stay in her taxi. This was despite the drivers warning her it was unsafe. Another thing that struck her was the number of luxury homes, cluster homes, and shopping centres that had popped up despite the economy being in tatters and poverty prevalent all around. She was also shocked to see how vendors, traders, and other informal marketeers, the backbone of that economy, had their places of business and homes destroyed, and their goods (stock) confiscated, all because some chef built or refurbished a shopping centre in the area.
“In a country where there is a huge division between the wealthy and the poor, you find the law only applies to one sector. That is unless you fall out of political favour. Zimbabwe is one such country.” - Peter McSporran
Rozanne tells me she has no wish to return to the country of her, her parents', and her grandparents' birth. Sad is it not?
The next thing that made me think was an article in The Economist last week about farmers on stolen land in Zimbabwe.
“A new generation of white farmers, who have—remarkably—entered into joint ventures with the black recipients of stolen farms.” - The Economist
I have sort of gone off the Economist, but I still have a subscription, kindly paid for by my daughter Storm. I thought the article was fairly well balanced, and I think the word ‘remarkable’ hints at what the writer really thought of those farming on our stolen land. I do not know how accurate his or her figures are; it does say some 400. It also says some pay something to the original owners, as we well know, many of whom are so desperate they'll take anything. Others do not! Further, who would listen to them complaining about someone on their stolen land? The article then said most of these farmers grew tobacco, and, as we know, their main support for both working capital and capital came from the tobacco companies. Lo and behold, if prices collapse, as they have recently done in Malawi. In farming, it is extremely dangerous to have all your eggs in one basket. The article also pointed out that while tobacco remained viable in that country, the rest of agriculture did not, for reasons I articulated in previous blogs. They also mentioned maize, as I did two weeks ago, and that the country relies on imports to feed itself. It touched on compensation; once again, I thought again fairly about how some, out of necessity, had accepted the PROFCA offer.
“A minority of white farmers—typically poor and in their dotage—has since accepted a more miserly offer.” - The Economist
Now I would say that was the truth.
The final two things that convinced me the world has gone crazy occurred in the UK. First Defra Minister and Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter said drinking in rural pubs with a dog at your side and foxhunting were right-wing pastimes. For this non-British and maybe many town dwellers, she is the minister in charge of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), that is Agriculture with a fancy name. A person who should be standing up for rural dwellers, not someone ridiculing them and showing little understanding of rural life.
“A pub, a black Labrador, and fox-hunting symbolism as a "deeply far-right, nostalgic vision of Britain.” - Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
Does that mean if you take your dog to the pub in rural areas you are far right wing and not so in the towns and cities? What a weird observation by a Minister meant to be representing rural people.
The thought went through my mind. The next thing they will be saying is cigarette smokers are left wing, pipe smokers are liberals, and cigar smokers are right wing. I came across a definite right-wing group that used tobacco on my visit to Georgia in the USA in 1987; the men there were chewing tobacco and spitting the spent remains into a cup between us in the car were definitely right-wing, so maybe tobacco could have been a measure of our political leanings when smoking was still prevalent. Now also a nostalgic pastime of most in modern society where right and left definitions seem to somehow become confused no less so than in the next event.
The final bit of craziness this week, which I alluded to in my first quote, was the Green Party in the UK, yes, those liberals that used to fight for the trees and bunnies and if given the chance, would release a beaver in your stream or a wild(feral?) boar in your back garden have become extreme right-wing, almost a fascist party led by someone who calls himself a Jew but acts against the Jews. They have now declared Zionism, which is the right of self-determination by Jews, racist, in fact, fascist yet they claim to be not racist. You are a Zionist, it seems now, if you are Jewish, not just one advocating the right to self-determination. Polansky, its leader, has lied about his heritage and showed his true colours by being absent when the motion was voted on. Yes, he ducked the vote, and latterly now says he disagrees with it. I know little about Polansky other than he has worse teeth than me from what I have seen of him on TV. That is saying something. Now this is a party which also attracts the woke crowd, I have no trouble with that but many of them would find themselves imprisoned or a worse fate if they actually visited Palestine, which this vote is meant to convey the party’s full support. It will be interesting to see if the ‘real greenies’ remain in the party. I considered them destructive enough before their latest shenanigans. Perhaps even in this crazy world, their latest action was a step just too far.
Disclaimer: Copyright ©️ Peter McSporran. This blog reflects my personal views and recollections, expressed in good faith. It does not represent any company or organisation, and references to others are not intended to cause offence or invade privacy.
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