The ANC and the South African White Right in Mozambique
The Mosagrius agreement signed in May 1997 between President
Nelson Mandela and Mozambique's President Joaquin Chissano has opened
the door for the white right to exploit Mozambican peasants.
APARTHEID AGRICULTURE
The agreement allows hundreds of white South African farmers to
settle in Mozambique's largest and poorest province- Niassa. The deal
was promoted by the South African Chamber for Agricultural
Development in Africa (Sacada). This is a capitalist group set up by
the white right-wing Freedom Front party.
In terms of the agreement, the Mozambican government granted a
50-year renewable concession for 220 000 hectares (100 000 for
agriculture, 100 000 for cattle-ranching and 20 000 for fruit and
ecotourism) to the capitalist farmers. They also got tax exemptions
to bring in supplies like farming equipment and medicines.
The entire agreement was worked out in secret and "rammed
through", says reports. The head of rural extension services in
Niassa province admitted locals were not consulted: "But the
ministers who design national policy know local people's needs". So
the government ignores the people, saying it knows better than they
do what their needs are.
LAND WRONGS
Sacada says that the farmers will boost food production and
food security for local people. But malnutrition is not the key issue
in Niassa. There is more than enough food, and it is produced through
traditional methods- the problem is that there is no marketing system
to allow the peasants to sell the crops. Mozambique's distribution
network was destroyed in the 17 years civil war backed by the
Apartheid regime.
The new farms will have several bad effects. Firstly, peasants
fear that they will end up as landless labourers or tenant farmers
that depend on the boss for food and housing.
Secondly, the new farms will hire men to grow the commercial
crops. Women will work the small plots allocate to the labourer's
families. This will introduce low-wage SA-style labour tenancy. Also,
girl children may be unable to go to school because they will be
replacing male labour. This is already happening in Majune district.
Under traditional agriculture, the peasants' farm an area, and
then leave the land fallow to recover while they move elsewhere. But
the new farming concessions are likely to use and damage this fallow
ground.
Racism is also likely, given the political background of these
"Freedom Front" farmers.
FROM BELOW
This is a recipe for land theft- for forcing peasants into
wage-slavery.
So the people responded by forming, late last year, the watchdog
Forum for Land Rights, an umbrella of 10 non-governmental and peasant
associations. The Forum wants any concessions to be scattered between
communal lands held through customary rights. The idea is that
peasant families will not only depend on wage work.
COSATU and especially its organised farm workers must demonstrate
against the spread of exploitative, right-wing-backed apartheid
agriculture to Mozambique. The workers must force the ANC to stop the
terrible exploitation that happened to rural workers in South Africa
coming down like a plague of locusts on our Mozambican brothers
and sisters.
DOWN WITH RURAL SLAVERY!
DOWN WITH LABOUR TENANCY! POWER TO ALL FARM LABOURERS AND
PEASANTS! TAKE BACK THE LAND!!
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