he success story of Zambia Sugar has put the country on the map with many multi-national companies (MNCs) now interested in investing in the sugar production in Zambia. Some of the characteristics that attract foreign investment in sugar is Zambia’s strategic location and endowment with good weather, fertile soils and plenty of water. Zambia Sugar has grown to be one of Africa’s largest sugar operations. Apart from being listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange, Zambia Sugar is Zambia’s leading producer of sugar currently producing 94% of the sugar in Zambia. The Nakambala factory based in Mazabuka is both the biggest single cane sugar milling operation of its kind in Africa as well as the largest private agricultural company and employer in the region. Nakambala Sugar produces about 1.6 million tonnes of sugar annually and currently employs about 1,850 permanent employees and approximately 3,530 seasonal workers.
Chembe district has similar agricultural characteristics suitable for the large scale growing of sugar cane. This newly created district which is located in Luapula Province is endowed with good weather, vast tracts of flat fertile soils and plenty of water from the nearby Luapula River which makes it easier and cheaper to produce sugarcane using irrigation. As a result, part of the land that has been set aside in the multi-facility economic zone has already
attracted some foreign investors interested in investing in sugarcane production. The hope is that Chembe can reproduce the success that is taking place in Mazabuka. However, amidst this great potential for sugar operations in Chembe, there are currently a number of challenges that require urgent redress by both the government and the local communities.
Zambia Land Alliance along with Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) and Mansa District Land Alliance visited the community in early 2017 and found the tension between the local communities and the investor had reached a tipping point. The organisations are working together under the ZGF facilitated European Union Capacity Development Support programme in an initiative that focuses on land rights. The communities took advantage of the presence of the ‘outsiders’ to air their grievances. They explained that three years ago, they were approached by one investor requesting them to release their farmland. This request came after the investor realised that the land allocated to the Company by government in the MFEZ was inadequate.
After long discussions, the community members agreed to release their land on condition that they would be paid some compensation, which did not include the cost of relocation. Thus, the investor in line with the agreement proceeded to engage the Ministry of Agriculture to carry out an assessment of the amount of land each household had and how much compensation was due based on their harvests.
The investor later proceeded to pay the community members accordingly. Two years later, the investor approached another community for more land and equally agreed to hand over the land to the investor after receiving the compensation.
The contention that is raging now is that, in the case of the second group, the agreement signed with the community involved higher compensation rates than what was paid to the first group. Although both agreements were binding to both parties, the first group now feels short changed and is claiming for compensation equivalent to what the second group has just received. The investor on the other hand has advised the community members affected to refer to the agreement they signed, which among others states that community members will have no further claim to their land once they have received the agreed compensation. Although there is no one to blame in all this, one thing for sure is that government needs to stand up, bring the two parties together and ensure that the matter is resolved as soon as possible. The delay in resolving this matter will have detrimental effects on both the proposed investment as well as on the prospects of resolving this standoff amicably.
Bittersweet trials of proposed sugar plantation in Chembe by George Hamusunga
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Land Rights
Tigwepo - March, 2017 9