Unprecedented Event.
Last week, an unprecedented event happened. A loose group known as the Past Presidents Group (PPG) of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) wrote to its mother organisation, informing them of the need for independent legal review coupled with broader consultation on the proposed and as yet publically unseen agreement between the Government and the Compensation Steering Committee (CSC) and CFU to dispense bonds to the needy. The fear is that this agreement could and more likely would impact on Title Deed Holders (TDHs) on compensation under the now defunct Global Compensation Deed (GDC). It appears it is defunct only in the eyes of the TDHs, not the government or the CSC.
Further, the PPG is worried that it neither offers any legal protection in the event of the government's default on payments and also sets a precedent in future payments in the form of bonds or similar financial instruments. Due to ignored numerous calls for both consultation and legal review, the unprecedented event of threatening legal action was enacted as the present proposal was generated in secrecy without proper independent legal scrutiny or consultation. The PPG does not include all past presidents of the CFU but rather the majority. It is unclear if those not part of the group are comfortable with the present proposal; of course, there is definitely one exception as he sits on the CSC.
Following the letter's presentation to the CFU council, it has now been agreed by the council to broaden consultation and gain independent legal opinion before proceeding. Now, however, there is a request from us to source the funding for this review. Does that mean, contrary to what has been said previously, the CFU and CSC were never in a position to fund the un-materialised legal review with or without our intervention? Whichever, it brings to a head the need to have an organisation or group with adequate funding, self or externally supported, to represent us in our battle for payment in retribution as stated in the country’s constitution.
Council should be commended for its stance; let's hope all parties with vested interest follow their lead in welcoming broader dialogue and implementing legal review.
“In this life, there is a cost to everything. Even when it comes to claiming what is rightfully yours by law.” - Peter McSporran
I am sure those non-Zimbo farmers reading this will be sick of this subject, but before I do so, I will remind my fellow farmer readers of two previous unusual precedents, at least out of the norms set in the CFU governorship.
The first was when I acted as Deputy Chairman of Commercial Oilseeds Producers. Up to that date, the normal term for any President of the CFU was two years. The wise old men of yesteryear did not want long-term politico-originated leaders to entrench themselves. Just look at soccer and rugby or even African countries to see what happens in this event. Further, as it was unpaid except for a very small stipend, it was unattractive to stay longer. However, in 1985, the chairman of the Grain Association had eyes on the presidency of the Union to the chagrin of the sitting council and to that end, they split all grain producers into winter cereal and grain at the same time, extending John Laurie’s term as President by a year. This allowed the deputy chairman of grain, Bob Rutherford, to become Winter Cereals chairman and stand for the CFU president the following year. While John was an excellent president, not all agreed with this extension and the motivation for it.
It was also an unwritten rule that you could only be the president of the Union for one term. This rule was broken with the demise of Bob Swift, who was ousted by the council in his first year of office in 1998 in favour of Nick Swanepoel, the immediate past president. I often wondered why the council could not find a new leader in their midst rather than reverting to a past president, which was construed as external interference in some quarters.
To this day, for whatever reason, this action was taken, it has left an unsavoury suspicion amongst farmers south of the Munyati River.
“It does not matter at what level, where office is obtained by election, there is always room for the unscrupulous and politically ambitious to benefit. The most dangerous of those are the kingmakers, not necessarily the king.” - Peter McSporran
Memories of Mull.
I know some of my friends avoid social media. Not me. I avoid the garbage, although it is often hard, if not nigh impossible to tell the truth from the lie sometimes. Without social media, I would have lost contact with many of my old friends and acquaintances. To be honest, even family in my case. I still enjoy looking at or even watching other people’s sheep and cattle, fishing trips or safari adventures, especially to those spots I used to frequent in days gone by. Guiltily, often in envy, but mostly with fond memories of both the place and the people we shared it with. My goodness, did we have fun on Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River?
How else would I see Billy Mitchell’s Brahman cattle improving in Zimbabwe, Mark Butler's impressive greening-up farming methods in Zambia, or Frankie Kay’s pictures of the Zimbabwean bush and news on Nkone cattle in the Matopos?
More recently, I have joined two sites about the Island of Mull. One is called ‘A Binman’s View of Mull and Iona', and the other is called 'Mull Nature Watch'. Both evoke such fond memories of my childhood. The first is a pictorial site run by Colin Morrison, the local and only binman on Mull and Iona. I presume he is an amateur photographer; he posts pictures of views and events around the islands as he goes about his business. His pictures are terrific, often simple in subjects about everyday life in present-day Mull.
For instance, when he posts views of Killiechronan and Loch-na-Keal, they remind me of home, while pictures of Gribun Rocks remind me of my bicycle trips to the McFadyean’s farm at Balmeanach. Balmeanach was a farm beyond the Gribun cliffs on the southwestern side of Loch-na-Keal, some seventeen kilometres from my home. Why would a thirteen-year-old boy cycle that far to see a couple without any children of their own? Every summer, their nieces, the Murray girls from Motherwell, stayed with them, and I, being at a boys’ boarding school, yearned for the excitement that female company could engender, even if only in one's mind. My youthful exuberance was rightly ignored by the girls in question, and none of my youthful endeavours, better described as antics, impressed them to the extent of them not showing any interest in me. Despite this, I enjoyed my visits there and the bike ride, often in pouring rain, around the Gribun rocks, towering on one side with the sea on the other. Colin often posts pictures of this road under the cliffs; it is spectacular.
I am not totally convinced about the wilding. Mull was always the home for a large number of golden eagles. What will the rapidly rising population of sea eagles, a larger bird, have on the golden eagle population? I doubt if those advocates of ‘wilding’ will give an unbiased opinion. Meanwhile, I do know they are having a negative impact on sheep farmers who lose lambs to these birds to the extent of threatening their livelihood. I think I will give my views on wilding in another blog.
I remember many sightings of otters, seals, dolphins, golden eagles and, more rarely, a whale as a child. We never identified what kind of whales, as a child, a whale was a whale. Often, we would see basking sharks off Lismore on the boat trip between Oban and Salen. I would say they were reasonably common. Now to my excitement, pictures and sightings of blue tuna were reported just last week. I cannot remember them being around Mull in my time. Does the increase in whale numbers and the tuna indicate rising fish populations? It would be so interesting to know. Some say they are there because of global warming, but on researching, I found they were common before 1940, perhaps when herring stocks were greater.
The nation's rising wealth brings increased interest in nature; when I was a child, wildlife was either vermin or good. Of all the problem species, rabbits were the worst before the advent of myxomatosis. Small predators, such as stoats, weasels, and polecats without foxes on Mull, did not limit their numbers. Funnily enough, when myxomatosis came, most of us stopped eating rabbits, even if the rabbit was obviously healthy. There were no pine martens on Mull when I was a child; it is thought they arrived recently on timber boats. Personally, I think more likely a human hand was at play. Red deer were always a problem for foresters and crop farmers, the latter of which were few on Mull in my childhood.
“I can safely say as a child I took wildlife, feathered, furred or scaled, for granted; only with age do I really appreciate its existence for something other than sport or food.” - Peter McSporran
Next week may be a shortened version or no blog as I go to the hospital on Monday to prepare for my operation on Tuesday. I am not sure how long my stay in the hospital will be. We will have to wait and see.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
Great as always to read your insights . I especially enjoy your nature pieces / photos . Keep it up . Good luck with the op