Cyclone, Medical News, and the Need for Urgent Dialogue in the Separation of our Representation as Title Deed Holders.

The wind has gone, but the rain has not. It continues to power down, causing flooding and damage to roofless properties. We are now being told to expect another storm on Monday.

Before going into the subject matter of this week's blog, it may be of interest to you that we suffered a cyclone here in our home area of Portugal on Tuesday night with 208 km/h winds, causing much damage in the form of roofs destroyed or partially damaged, electricity cut by multiple tree falls, and in some areas, flooding. We were in the epicentre of it.

"The IPMA station in Soure (Coimbra) registered on Wednesday early morning a wind gust of 208.9km/h. This is the highest value ever measured by a weather station in Portugal.

We ourselves lost only a few roof tiles and had a messy garden, but not many of our neighbours; our immediate neighbours lost half the roof and the subsequent rain damage to their belongings. There are many people with no or partial roofs, not enough tradesmen to do repairs despite the continuing rain, and they continue to suffer the internal damage to property that comes with this. So sad. Despite this, I was very impressed by the efforts of our local bombeiros (firemen) and volunteers. This morning, when we ventured out hoping to find a pharmacy open, we saw many power lines down and our main road out of the village blocked by fallen trees. Yet, twelve hours later, as I wrote this, with trees cleared from the power lines and roads, power has returned to our village. Roads that were blocked by fallen trees were mostly cleared in the morning, although the main road to our village was still blocked until that evening. We used back roads to exit and luckily found an open restaurant for a hot lunch. I should mention that not everyone is as lucky as we are, and some towns and villages have had no power for two days now. The internet is down, but once again, we are lucky to have Starlink, which was restored when the power came on.

The road out of our village after clearing. Much work still to be done

Medical matters. On Tuesday, I had a review with my cardiologist, and since they stopped and restarted my heart in October, it is still beating normally, and my arrhythmia has not returned. For now, he will stop monitoring me and leave it to my GP to do so every six months. Let's hope it does not return, and on top of that, the prolonged healing of my last surgery wound was finally achieved, with the wound now completely closed. Normally, this happens about 10 days after surgery, but because of its position, this one took an inconvenient month. Rozanne has had to dress it at least once if not twice a day. What would I do without her?

I have tempered my title for this blog, for after having had a few conversations with various people involved in our representation in trying to achieve compensation this week, my mild concerns on the delays in separation from the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) and the yet to be identified organisation, one of which to be chosen to represent us the Title Deed Holders(TDHs), became a much greater concern. I am not going to apportion blame. I believe all those involved are genuine in what they are trying to achieve, namely the separation, but I’d rather voice my concern about the apparent inertia in achieving it. Part of the problem, I believe, is that we, including those individuals and organisations that represent us, no longer sit across the table, due mainly to geographic separation, to thrash issues out. Rather, they electronically communicate. Unfortunately, both the informed and the uninformed are happy to voice their opinion by this means, privately and publicly, which only compounds small differences into vast chasms. It should be said that some of the most virulent statements are posted by those who do the least, or even anything, for us. At the outset, let me thank the few who make time to fight on our behalf.

"In this modern day, the keyboard has become the weapon of choice. While it will not mortally wound you, it can cause untold harm with no physical danger to the warrior who uses it."- Peter McSporran

On our way to a hot lunch. That is the road in front of us if you are wondering. Luckily, we only had rain, some areas had snow

Further, I was going to talk about a tragic event that occurred in my home farming area in 2002, but I have delayed this following a rather depressing informal discussion I was part of over the weekend. It included a number of past Presidents of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU). It should be noted that we are not there to influence anyone; rather, we offer our opinions on various matters when asked. It is for the asker to heed or ignore. We are probably more akin to the two grumpy old men on the Muppet Show, so our advice should be taken with a grain of salt, as we are poorly equipped to understand the present dynamics of the organisation who represent us. It may well be at least a year since we last had such a chat, when we all supported the concept of separation of the CFU into two entities, one representing the Title Deed Holders (TDHs) in their endeavours for compensation and one representing the active farmers. For very good reason, this would hopefully remove the suspicion of conflicted representation. I think that was also the general consensus of most of the TDHs. Work commenced in the legal separation, by the CFU, Agricultural Recovery and Compensation Committees (ARAC), which had previously provided most of the funding to run the CFU, and the Compensation Steering Committee (CSC) and in November we were told work was advancing only to be told this Saturday progress in restructuring had stalled due to a difference of opinion on both the procedure to achieve this and what entity should represent the TDHs. That being either in the name of the old CFU or some as yet unnamed body. The one to represent TDH, the other, the “New Age Farmers”. The reason, or rather in truth, the blame is on ourselves, the TDHs, due to our apathy or just plain inability to do things for ourselves. Our apathy does not extend enough to deter criticism of those representing us, trying to get it done. We should offer encouragement, not disparaging statements or vindictive innuendos.

“The internet is reminiscent of the old farmers’ club pubs. Those with most to say in the pub rarely spoke in the Farmers' Meetings, but their voice would be heard, and their uninformed opinions would be perceived as factual by those who did not bother to attend the meeting.” - Peter McSporran

Some of the damage in our area, central Portugal

Although at the last AGM we thought we had given ARAC and the CSC, with support from the CFU to go ahead and draw a clear line between the CFU, in representation of the TDHs, and the yet to be named entity to represent those farmers farming on our land, unbeknownst to us this has stalled due to differing of opinions within those organisations. In saying this, I have also been informed these New Age farmers were loath to become members of the CFU as it carried historical baggage of being an all-white organisation, which is factually untrue. Equally, some TDHs want nothing to do with the CFU because it was captured under previous personalities.

“It is perceived by those ex-Zimbabwean farmers in the diaspora that if you live in Zimbabwe, you are not protected by law when it comes to land; rather political favour and or backhanders and bribes. The latter can be in many forms. Therefore, any organisation that is seen to represent the TDHs while also representing the “New Age Farmers”, to be polite, finds itself compromised by both parties. An untenable position and would be the main factor in creating the present status quo.” - Peter McSporran

As a TDH, not a past president of the CFU, I should have been more aware and taken the time to read some of the often virulent postings regarding the Compensation Awareness Group (CAG) on WhatsApp and other internet fora, and I would have known that an unwanted division has once again split us. In my ignorance, or lack of attention, I am not sure of the catalyst, so many opinions, but the underlying theme is that following the capture of the CFU and the presnt actions of the immediate past president of the CFU who is still openly promoting the Government bond deal through Property and Farm Compensation Association (PROFCA) under the auspices of the now defunct Global Compensation Deed (GCD) and falsely the CFU and SAFCA. It should be remembered that PROFCA represents only its association members, not the majority of TDHs or the CFU, nor does it have a legal mandate to do so. Many feel the actions of the self-proclaimed leaders of PROFCA, Orphanides and Pascoe, have done it out of self-interest; after all, Pascoe is still farming, and Orphanides will benefit from the fees that will be generated through their scheme. From conversations I have had with people involved in representing us, there is still suspicion, true or false, of links between this group and the CFU. I do not know whether this is true; I doubt it very much. But if the proposed separation were implemented, these links could be cut once and for all. And there we have it: some want to retain the CFU brand as the vehicle for representing us, as it is widely recognised, while others want nothing to do with this name. Many, including those that have joined the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), have made it clear they do not want the brand CFU representing them, while others feel that the CFU, if it only represented TDHs, would have cleansed itself of this legacy and still be the brand recognised by international organisations and governments representing those farmers who have lost their land. 

“Farmers worldwide are very divisive amongst themselves; it is their independent nature. These divisions, as in the past, should never lead to self-harm. Unfortunately, in my opinion, that is what we are doing presently to the TDHs.” - Peter McSporran

We have to resolve these issues amongst ourselves. We know Pascoe and Co will never redeem themselves, so rather, let's work with what we have and get on with the job. In the meantime, I am happy that we work with SAAI. In fact, I joined SAAI more than a year ago, and to be honest, have not paid anything since. They seem to have the ear and means to influence those in high places interested in our cause, as unfortunately, it seems as if PROFCA. To achieve this, and from a recent statement from Pascoe, it appears they have retained a number of organisations, including lobbyists in the USA. My immediate thought when I read this was, "How the hell can they afford that?" Lobbyists' fees can exceed US$20,000 per month. Then, on reflection and from what I can gather, we may be able to trace this initiative back to the consultants who sold us the GCD and were retained on a success-fee basis. Why would they let any opportunity go that might still let them claim this, even under a dubious mandate?

Volunteers clearing the roads

“Lobbyists in the United States do not work for free; they charge their clients. What would be in our small world, exorbitant fees, both retaining and rewarding. Promises or engagements must exist.” - Peter McSporran

From what I understand, both the CFU and SAFCA, contrary to what has been said, have not signed any such mandate as articulated in a recent letter to OB Consulting. In fact, they have queried the use of their name in writing to OB consultants. Finally getting back to SAAI, I have in mind they have the nounce and connections to talk to the Americans and others at a higher table than our leadership at present, purely through experience and resources, not necessarily calibre, and we should be happy for them to assist in our fight. But we will still need an entity in Zimbabwe that represents us, made up solely of TDHs, which will not misrepresent us in our fight for our rights. I really feel bad about what we are doing to the leaders we elected in trying to resolve the problem.

“To those representing us, the TDHs, in trying to achieve this separation, hang in there, as it appears no one else is willing to take on this onerous task. Without you coming to a common ground, we reduce our chances of financial retribution. Something none of us want to be remembered for.” - Peter McSporran

Many were not nearly as fortunate as we were, lives devastated

Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.