Some Corrections, Goodbye Craig Bone, Zambian Helpers and A Breakthrough.

Clear skies tonight, Friday, but rain is expected to return tomorrow.

My age is showing in my writings; some corrections are required for last week's blog. I have already adjusted and reposted. Please accept my apologies. The first heads-up was from my wife, Rozanne, who told me in the very first line of the blog that I had put Zambia instead of Rhodesia. Funny, nobody else contacted me, perhaps they just accepted I had it wrong and let it be. I am sure many noticed this, but unlike my wife, they were too polite to point it out. The second one to point out an error was Willie Robinson, informing me I had spelt Ngundi wrong, and finally Roger Manley informed me the Swedish person I mentioned as living with Tony Middleton next door to me while attending Gwebi College was actually Danish and he even provided me with his name and contact details, Marten Sorreson. Seemingly now an academic in Denmark. I will give him a call, which should surprise him, as we last spoke some fifty-plus years ago. Trying to remember the events of the early millennium is difficult, as it was a bit of a hectic blur, a time when all our nerves were at breaking point, with some events remaining in my head with little or no chronological order. Luckily, I still have friends to jog my memory, and with the advent of the internet in the millennium, dates are more readily ascertained.

“As time goes by, despite the strongest conviction you are right, others' recollection of an event may differ, with equal conviction.” - Peter McSporran

As I have said, I have never had bad dreams about the war or other events in my life except for losing the farms. Not the violence, but losing the farms. Talking to Willie Robinson, our connection through having had a common friend in Joe Whaley, along with loads of mutual friends and acquaintances, we keep in contact. He told me just this week he also has these dreams about events, almost always out of context. Mine is usually that I had to leave the farms because I went bust due to crop failure, rather than being chased off by state-sponsored thugs. Perhaps it is because I always think of losing the farms as a failure, despite like us all; it was actually a fait accompli. I now know I am not the only one who subconsciously has these wrong conceptions of that time in our dreams. No doubt those who have suffered physical assault or the threat of personal violence have more focused dreams than those of losing their property, personal and business. Admittedly, I let the farms run down in the last couple of years as we watched the inevitable approach of the invaders moving onto our individual farms. As consolation when I awake from these nightmares, as they are such, I remind myself that I left Zimbabwe debt-free, which was probably stupid. One of the driving forces for this was that I wanted an impeccable bank record to help access money in another country. It did help, but seeing some of those who raised money later on in Zambia made me wonder if this was just a vanity, not a necessity. Pride comes in many forms.

“At that time, I was really focused on finding an alternate future; now, into my fifties, the dread of returning to the UK penniless was my worst nightmare.” - Peter McSporran

I was saddened to hear Craig Bone, ex-RLI and artist, passed away this past week. Not only was he a world-renowned wildlife and war artist who had been wounded in combat himself, but he was also a great storyteller. Especially about his time in the army and in the bush, looking for material for his art. I cannot imagine there is one white Zimbabwean or ex-Zimbabwean who does not know of him, as will many army veterans and wildlife people in the United States, where he made his home. I am fortunate enough to have several of his paintings on my wall, reminding me of Zimbabwe and its incredible wildlife. Rest in peace, Craig. You left us too early—my sincere condolences to his family.

Artist and storyteller par excellence

On reflection, I may have given the impression that most Zambian white farmers were unappreciative of our efforts to relocate Zimbabwean commercial farmers to that country. This is not the case, and I would like to mention a few who went out of their way to assist. The first was the late Ronnie Landless from Chisamba, a well-known farming leader and businessman with the Government's ear. Ron and Megan, his wife, would often offer us a bed when looking for opportunities in Zambia and, more importantly, excellent advice. As an aside, Megan was the best garlic grower I ever came across. I loved sitting with Ronnie, a beer in hand, as he took me through pre- and post-independence Zambia, and his decision to stay, even though most white farmers had left, leaving large amounts of land available, which the new owners had failed to farm and had abandoned it to all intents and purposes. Although he only leased his land back after the state took it over, he was happy to have stayed. If Mugabe wanted to keep the commercial farming sector alive in Zimbabwe, he could have copied the best components of this model, allowing him to say they had taken the land. Unfortunately, the invasions were tangible proof that he did so to enhance his own political survival rather than address the land issue logically. Another person who was free with his advice and welcomed us was Guy Robinson. Guy was the President of the Zambian Farmers Union (ZFU), and he was happy to share advice with me, which kept me in good standing in dealing with officialdom in Zambia. He also allowed his staff at the ZFU to give advice where possible. His wife, Lindsay, was the daughter of Bernard Rhodes, Principal of Gwebi College, when I used to socialise there in the early seventies. While Guy was in office, she took to running their highly successful dairy, the top producer in Zambia. The other family who welcomed us were the Deans, a father-and-son duo. Unfortunately, Robert, the father, passed away due to cancer while we were still in Zambia. His wife, Sally, was a friend to Rozanne and a bridge partner, while his son, Nick, and his wife, Sarah, we still count as friends, with Sarah visiting Portugal earlier this year. Nick is one of the best, if not the most renowned, row-crop farmers in Zambia. Another family who welcomed us were the Millers of Lilayi, with us often using their lodge as an overnight base. Alternatively, when cash was low, we would stay at the Van Blerk’s campsite. Their son, Carl, had attended Blackfordby when I was chairman and gained fame for falling off the stand at Castle Corner during a cricket match, sustaining only a broken arm. Beer must assist in soft ladings. Finally, the most prominent grain farmer in Zambia also gave us guidance: Dave Gordon, also of Chisamba. All these people helped me establish myself in Zambia by providing good advice and often a bed. 

Amongst the professionals, Andrew Howard, who registered our first company in Zambia and was an ex-flatmate of Graham Rae at Permaritsberg University, was also invaluable, often freely giving advice. Carl Irwin, CEO and joint owner of Zambeef, was also helpful, but, as we were to find out, more for his own benefit than ours, although gratefully received at the time. I will not mention those who had reservations about us, as over time, all became friends and in some cases, clients of mine.

Valentine Chitalu. Mentor, business partner and importantly, friend

Equally, several indigenous Zambians went out of their way to help us, many of whom became good friends. I mentioned the Vice President Kavindele previously, while others of significance and becoming good friends were Valentine Chitalu, a director of CDC and had been head of the Zambia Privatisation Agency, Chita Chibesukunda, a banker at Barclays, and his cousin Mwelwa Chibesukunda, a lawyer, both becoming great friends, Margret Mwanakatwe, CEO of Barclays and finally Elias Chipimo, a lawyer, even the present President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema (HH) who at that time was senior partner at Grant Thornton gave us good advice, he being a cattleman himself also becoming a friend. 

Mwelwa Chibesukunda. My lawyer, but more importantly, such a good friend to me during tough times in Zambia

Meanwhile, despite all the advice John Knight and I were getting extremely frustrated in trying to raise the funds required to rattle farmers in Zambia. In the meantime, Graham Rae, Vernon Nicolle and I had formed a farming company called Soilmasters and we had agreed to lease the arable land on the Zambezi Ranching and Cropping (ZRC) farms in Chisamba, a holding of some twenty-three thousand hectares and therefore access to more arable than we needed. Carl Irwin and Francis Grogan, the owners and operators of Zambeef, ran about 9,000 head of cattle on the property. We had committed to a lease at a level well above our financial capabilities, but with a loan from Barclays and some cash supplied by Nigel Philp, we planned to plant a summer crop of seed maize, maize, and soya in November that year. We had no equipment and had to get some fast without any money, the only option was to try and move some out of Zimbabwe. That landed us another task. Not easy getting equipment, tractors, and irrigation off the farms; even harder to get them through the border and into Zambia legally. We were not too worried about the way we would get out of Zimbabwe, just that we did but meanwhile, being legal on arrival. To say it was exciting times in many ways is an understatement.

Then it happened. One lunchtime in the Red Lion on one of my trips back to Harare, Gary Wallace, who at the time was in charge of Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco (ZLT) in Zimbabwe, said his regional boss, Vernon Cole, would like to discuss our plans in moving farmers north to Zambia. John and I duly met him, and we relayed our findings in that we identified land, the Zambians wanted us, we had built a good working relationship with that country's Government and importantly, that if we found long-term loans for capital, we could access working capital loans with  Barclays Bank. In that meeting, there was also Mark Neeves, Cole's understudy, and Tony Butler, his head of finance. Perhaps it helped me. Robbie Mapawose, a neighbour and friend of mine, was chairman of the ZLT board. At the end of the meeting, Cole said they were interested in doing something. He would revert back, which they did in a couple of weeks, saying they would consider financing the capital for tobacco infrastructure, including curing facilities. Still, we would not only have to secure working capital but also funds to purchase movable equipment such as tractors, trailers, and general soil and planting equipment. They also said they wanted us to identify the farmers, conduct due diligence to ensure they were top tobacco growers, identify and secure the land, and organise all the documentation, including Investment licences, to enable their move. Wow, a monotonous task ahead, but a giant step forward if we could reach agreement on each other's roles and deliverables. For that, we all agreed to turn to Lindsay Cook at Atherston and Cook to start drafting one of the most complicated agreements I would put my signature to.

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