Last week after bleating about corruption, low and behold, this week Panorama on BBC runs a story on British American Tobacco (BAT) on illegal practice in South Africa, including allegations of bribery regarding Mugabe for the release of some third party agents representing them. They had face to face interviews with some of the contractors who acted as middlemen both involved in corporate spying and the passing of bribes. I cannot understand for the life of me why these gentlemen openly decided at this time to go public in declaring themselves and their employers illegal activities. Maybe there's some sort of legal time limitation coupled with reward?
BAT says in its defence, “It is committed to the highest standards of corporate conduct.”
Of course, when you work for corporations and many Government entities, they have a long list of policies which you agree to adhere to. These policies are prolific nowadays, not simple and at times contradictory to each other, even within a single policy. Many are difficult for the layman to understand. To help you understand these policies, they will even run courses, often very simplistic, to help you comprehend what they mean. This may also be somewhat confusing, often undertaken by third parties who do not really know the ethos of the company. Needless to say, the document is produced and if you wish to remain an employee, you must sign acknowledging you both understand the said policy and will adhere to it at all times. In organisations with an operational ethic of integrity, this may well be their goal.
“In ticking the box you may now be responsible for all that happens below you, even for actions above your pay grade unbeknown to you. You are now on the ‘CYA’ web.” - Peter McSporran
At the same time, the organisation may have an aggressive management structure, even board, demanding better results every year. These can include better margins, greater profits, reduced costs, more market share or entry into new markets geographically to name a few. Achieving these goals often includes somehow beating the competition in that market at any cost fair or foul.
In reward for this, large bonuses are offered, while failure can lead to job loss. So all these policies done in good faith or not, come down to the individual and his or her ambitions. Remember it may not just be a monetary reward, it may be status, especially in regard to performance against internal and external peers.
Now when I was young, naive and stupidly patriotic, I always liked to think all Scotsmen are great guys. Nae better! Naturally, like every race and background, there are thieves, crooks and even murderers. Just in the corporate world, the same exists. The bosses know this, hence the policies that allow them to say we “have the highest standards with regard to our ethics.” Meanwhile, knowing their goals may drive their staff at many levels to disregard the policies signed. This creates a responsibility ladder. Each rung a possible safety net for ‘CYA’.
“I am not the one, it must have been him or her or they. He, she or they did not inform me of their actions, I do not condone them.” - Your immediate boss in times of crisis or misdemeanour
So while in some cases, the policies are put in place in good faith in practice for the management team to achieve goals set for them by the board down through different management levels, they are forced to bend the rules. It may not simply be human greed, it may be the individual trying to feed his or her family or keep his or her job. Vulnerable people may do stupid things on behalf of the greedy.
“There's enough on this planet for everyone's needs, but not for everyone's greed.” — Mahatma Gandhi
So in short, the policies are in place more as a box-ticking or checking exercise, coupled with the ability to cover one's arse (CYA) rather than a tool for good governance. To survive, all senior managers are adept at this. Hence the corruption you find in large corporations and companies. They may even be protected by law in carrying out these unfair practices. An example of legal unfair practice is supermarkets unilaterally discounting their suppliers to gain an advantage over the competition. It may be legal, but is it really ethical? The suppliers have to comply or lose their market.
“We condone a number of mega-corporate organisations for their misdemeanours in the hope of cheaper food and services. What we get are a few very rich executives who sustain their extravagant salaries and lifestyle at their customers and shareholders expense. Boards need once again to take their roles much more seriously. Punishing the board members rather than the individual will soon change the businesses ethics.” - Peter McSporran
BAT are the ones in the news this week, they are not unique. In recent years Siemens, Total Oils, BAE Systems and even Goldman Sachs are among many that have paid fines for corporate misconduct, including bribes. So while corruption is endemic in Zimbabwe, many corporates may well say:
“Our policies are in place to maintain the highest corporate ethic standards.”
Meanwhile :
“It is said with tongue in cheek while the hand is on a brown envelope.” - Peter McSporran
Do not get me wrong, I think the free market system is best. It however can only work with full transparency and disclosure. Things that are apathetic to many corporate chief executives.
On a lighter note here in Portugal due to my age, I have to have a medical, psychological appraisal and have my eyes tested every two years to enable me to hold a driving licence. My eyes were easy, any local optician can do this. The other two have to be done by your medical doctor, due to Covid-19 have been instructed to stop this because of the present perceived workload. Bureaucracy at work, we have little Covid-19 in our area now. Anyway we can have the appraisal done by a private doctor or in our case at the local old people's home. In arranging an appointment we parked next to our local cemetery in Penela. I wonder why the cemetery is near the old folks home, they must have built it next to the existing cemetery? Is this to assist in access at death or just allow older folks to visit their deceased relatives easier? Whichever, in deciding to visit the cemetery both Rozanne and I were stunned by how well it is maintained. The cemetery is on the side of a steep hill, so it is terraced. We thought maybe it was the tier nearest the gate that was kept smart but no the whole place is immaculate with flowers on nearly every grave. Most are covered by marble slabs while there are many family mausoleums with glass fronts so you can view the coffins placed there. This is a poor country that seems to cast aside its humble living and austerity in death.
Kerol Dip
I settled down into the routine at Umzururu. I spent most of my day, as many farm assistants and even owners did, in the company of our African workers. The majority were from Malawi and Mozambique. There were few Shonas, the local tribe, on the farm at Umzururu. I soon learned that in each workgroup, be it drivers, dairymen or field labourers, there was always a leader who often had more sway over his fellow workers than the supervisor. If he was a compliant chap, happy with his lot, things went well. If he was a malcontent, no matter your efforts, things could go bad. The Senior Foreman was a chap called Mhari. He was my mentor. He also took no shit from anyone as far as I could see. I never saw his authority challenged, although two people were held in equally high esteem by the workers. That was Rice, the main house cook, and Deval, the truck driver. Like in any group of people, there were all types of characters, from the hard-working sober to the skiving drunks. There were also those who were hard-working and drunks. There were two workers that really intrigued me, newly arrived from Scotland. Both were ancient, wise-looking men, whose only apparel appeared to be rags. One was the sheepherder who would head off into the veld each morning, find a suitable anthill and gaze into the distance until he retired with the sheep in the evening before dusk. No book, no radio, just his own thoughts. What could he be thinking about all day and every day? The other was an equally ancient man, who lived in a small dark room at the side of the maize mill shed. He worked his own hours, smoked as many did on the farm, strong raw tobacco rolled up in newspapers. Without fail or supervision he produced maize rations for every individual or family. No notebook or record. He lived in the dark, as far as I knew, never washed, but nevertheless was a very important cog in the farm's wheel.
Hamish Smith had a world-renowned reputation as a Cattleman. He, I think by first choice, was a dairyman, with both Friesland and Ayrshire cattle being milked on the farm. I even remember the follow-up Friesland bull at that time, Zonga Duke from the Boyd Clarks in Inyazura. Of course, AI was the preferred method of conception. I was sent on a course to the Jacaranda Inn at Bromely under the tuition of Danny Reitz to assist on this daily task. The Frieslands over the years changed to Holstein. Hamish ran large beef herds, both at Umzururu and Portlet Estate in Sinoia. These were local tribal cattle improved over the years by good bulls, in this case predominately Hereford. Hamish had a stud herd to provide the ranches. There were three farms, mainly down to ranching which he ran. Highlands, Innerleithen and Landscape. The home farm, Umzururu, was home to the dairy herd and stud cattle. If I remember correctly each unit had about 200 cows. Each was run by a Matebele Herdsman. These herdsmen knew every genealogy, history of the cow and their offspring. They seemed to naturally know if an animal was missing or sick. Without counting or handling, a glance across the herd was all that was required. For me the first few days at the cattle dip was exciting. This was a once a week task, normally supervised by Hamish, undertaken by me if he was absent from the farm. I had dipped sheep before, but not cattle. I have always enjoyed dip days. As I arrived in the rainy season, dipping was carried out at least once a week to control ticks. At that time, we were changing to Toxaphene from arsenic dips. Dangerous I know, as my boss's little Fox Terrier suffered from poisoning. It was only evident when it lost weight releasing the poison from its fat causing fits. That dog was always kept fat. We also did not dip the calves, exposing them to ticks in early life salting them to viruses.
I am sure to overcome Covid-19, we will all have to be touched by it, even if vaccinated. Just a thought.
One of my other tasks was the castration and dehorning of the calves. Done later in life than is required under law now. When sent off with the dehorning iron and the scalpel, Hamish’s parting words were;
“I have never lost a calf to screwworm, I do not expect you to do so.”
In Scotland, we used Aldrin or Dieldren oil, as protection here in Africa we used, I learned Kerol Dip. Not an insect repellent, but a disinfectant. Used strong enough, it not only stopped infection it also repelled the flies. The mix had to be strong. The other thing I learned when castrating the calves by scalpel was that the “Mountain Oysters” were good to eat. After all, I was a poorly paid hungry bachelor. Meat is meat! With each herd having some two hundred calves of which roughly half were bulls, there was always enough for my Matebele counterparts and I to share. I had to be careful with the Kerol so as to ensure I did not taint them. When castrating, so many cattle in a day, my fingers often got cut. My goodness did that Kerol sting, I pitied the calves. The Kerol must surely have added to their discomfort. Over the years with Hamish, I did not lose a calf to screwworm, thanks to Kerol.
InFraCoAfrica
Through Han Derksen, InFraCoAfrica became one of our clients. InFraCo provides funding and expertise to infrastructure projects through PIDG, a publicly funded trust, from governments in the UK (FCDO), the Netherlands (DGIS) and Switzerland (SECO). The Chairman and founder of the InFraCo group was Keith Palmer who became a good friend and long time boss of mine after we formed AgDevCo in 2009. However, this was back in 2005, while InFraCo was still in its infancy. Han had been tasked with looking at possible agricultural projects in Zambia along with municipal water supplies in Lusaka. Han and I set off looking for suitable projects supported by Paul Cartwright back in our office. One of the first projects we looked at and I believe still today a worthwhile project, was the Lunsemfwa Dam Project north of the Mkushi farming block. From our fieldwork, we found that the water rights on the block were oversubscribed with a free for all on extraction. While it would have helped to have a water board, the fact was the demand for water in the block was greater than supply. Many internal dams were built in the block with few increasing the overall resource, rather they precluded the neighbours of water downstream.
Han and I, with the help of Peter Shepperd, identified a large dam site on the Lunsemfwa River. This water could have been lifted to the northern edge of the block and then gravity fed by canal down into the various parts of the block. The main challenge to the scheme was Lunsemfwa Hydro which had a large dam downstream providing electricity to the national grid. This was now a privatised company that could only see negatives in the new dam and none of the positives. A short-sighted position. Also, trying to get consensus among the farmers was hard, with one large commercial user with political ties not totally in favour. Stealing free water is better than paying for building and storing guaranteed supply. I believe the plan for the dam may be back on the drawing board with Lunsemfwa Hydro being more receptive.
“Herding cats is easier than getting farmers to agree.” - Peter McSporran
The other project Han and I looked at was Chanyana. This one has succeeded, after many years of pain, large expense and false starts. I know agricultural development is slow, but this project was extremely slow. I am happy to read that the recently developed project, sugar cane production units with mill, is now on the market as Jakana Farms. More about personalities and Chanyana next week.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
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