From Zim Online (SA), 24 August

No greener pastures in Botswana farms

Ghantsi, Botswana – The clear silhouette of distant mountains stretches behind the crumbling hut, situated somewhat forlornly in a corner of a Botswana farm. Hundreds of miles from their homes in neighbouring Zimbabwe four workers sit in front of the dwelling, gazing into a fire. They are satisfied the isolated position of their current home, in a sparsely populated region known as Ghantsi, is temporarily protecting them from the searching eyes of local law enforcers. It’s easy to see why the area, part of Botswana’s farming belt, is a drawing card for thousands of labourers who used to work on Zimbabwe(194)Â(185)¹s formerly white-owned commercial farms. Some, like these four, have left their homeland to avoid repercussions of the government’s controversial land reform program. Refugees International says economic disruption in Zimbabwe, coupled with political intimidation and harassment, has led to the displacement of at least 150,000 farm workers.

The men talk about their shared past at Greendale Farm in Nyamandlovu, near Zimbabwe’s second largest city of Bulawayo. The workers left the property when it changed hands. “The new owner is a war veteran. He arrived one day, with all his relatives. We were called sell-outs because we were working for a white man,” says Dumisani Magwe (not his real name). The four say they cannot remember where the white farmer, whom they only identify as Mr. Jones, went when his farm was seized. They think he must have sought refuge in neighbouring South Africa. Magwe says he has not had a steady job since that incident in early 2001. The others all worked at various farms in the Nyamandlovu area but each time ended up being sent off for the same reason: because they had worked for white farmers before. Tired of hopping from one job to another, the four joined the trek west to Botswana which, they now admit, has not altogether been the greener pasture they had expected to find. Foreign labourers do not get paid a lot to begin with. “We have to accept the low salaries because we have no alternative,” Thulani Nleya, one of the four farm hands says. But he is quick to add: “One cannot think of going home under the present circumstances.” The P200 (about Z$250 000 -(194)Â(173)­ about half the average worker’s pay in Zimbabwe) which they earn a month is carefully tucked under the mattress.

The four say the only time they can think of going home is in December, before Christmas. While the pay is not much it enables the four to survive and save a little. “We keep our money because the farm owner brings us everything. Food and accommodation are provided, so we do not have to spend much of what we earn,” explains Nleya. The hut, home to the four while they are in Botswana, speaks volumes about their situation. The single-room structure is their kitchen, bedroom and lounge all in one. Their day begins at 5 a.m, when they feed ostriches, followed by an array of tasks in the fields including irrigation and digging furrows. They seldom return to the fire, in front of the hut, before 7pm. Magwe and his co-workers have no protection or legal recourse, partly because Botswana authorities say government will not review farm workers’ conditions of employment. Also, the country’s Employment Act does not prescribe either minimum working hours or wages in the agricultural sector. Nleya says he feels, in his words, “left at the mercy” of employers. Botswana’s minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Thebe Mogami, told parliament in early August that the sector(194)Â(185)¹s working hours and wages are subject to individual parties discussing, and then agreeing to, specific terms.