Spiting the face

It is incredible that Government has given a Copperbelt farmer 21 days in which to uproot an entire center pivot system together with the soya beans planted on the farm. It is our fervent prayer that this will not come to pass as a more amicable and mutually beneficial settlement can be found. The Government may indeed have its way, but might is not always right. Might does not represent cogent and well-reasoned argumentation, it is simply the flexing of raw power without regard to the circumstances and conditions pertaining to a particular situation. Next door in Zimbabwe we saw a Government that sought to settle land redistribution with might. The result are plain for all to see. Prosperous farms employing thousands of Zimbabweans have been thrown into ruin injuring the very same people that were to benefit from the exercise. In our view a reasoned and equitable solution should be considered. This will require painstaking examination of the alternatives. Those involv4ed must think outside the box. There is no gain in destroying a functioning farm. We appreciate that the impasse is the culmination of several years of acrimonious debate and subsequent standoff. We are also aware that on the other side of the argument is a farmer who has borrowed to invest heavily in plant and equipment including Centre pivots and other developments that are benefiting the nation. This farmer is now pitted against the might of the state. It does not need the genius of a rocket scientists to determine the loser. It is unacceptable that in this day and age a single individual can be made to face such a ruinous outcome when more reconciliatory, acceptable and equitable solutions could be found. There is no doubt that the vexing land question concerning the Musakashi irrigation scheme has exercised the patience of both sides, seeing that it goes back to the year 2004, almost 14 years ago. The record is replete with documentation of offers, counter offers and eventually cancellation of title deeds as held by Triple S ranch, representing arguable cases from both sides which require serious consideration before any drastic action is taken. On one hand the Government is determined to implement a multibillion World Bank supported irrigation project, while on the other hand the farmer has a huge loan with the banks over the infrastructure that was constructed on the land. If the project stalls thousands of Zambians who would have benefitted from the scheme will be deprived, but if evicted the farmer will suffer severe financial loss, compounded by the outstanding loan amounts. He may indeed be forced into bankruptcy. The situation requires serious, independent and impartial determination to arrive at a win-win situation, which will certainly not include removing the Centre pivot and the crops currently under irrigation.