Zambia, Zimbabwe graduate from tenancy labour into contractual wage labour
The case study of a male tobacco tenant in the central district of Mchinji whose daughter and wife were forced to sleep with estate owner and manager respectively in order to get food and money
Malawi’s economic growth depends much on agricultural proceeds which accounts for 30 percent of domestic product (DGP) whose source is man power in the form of tenants, labours who actively do the needful job to produce either food or cash crops.
Thus, manipulation of such a source by denying them their rights to food, shelter, clothing, clean water and medication defeats the whole course of producing more for the country’s economic growth.
It’s so pathetic that much of cash crops such as tobacco, tea, sugarcane are produced in estates whose system of cultivation is tenancy labour similarly to that of our colonial masters, Thangata system whereas individuals and families treatment are mere instruments of production.
Tenancy system is premised on the employment of family labour including women and children as estate owners grant the tenants access to a parcel of land on the estate and provide them with materials, agricultural inputs and services in consideration for an undertaking by them (tenants) to produce and sell agricultural commodities exclusively to the state owners.
The system is characterized by low-return and exploitive as it presents high levels of informality, causal work arrangements, labour force fragmentation, gender and age-based inequalities with poor working conditions and access to social protection is limited.
Tenancy labour is mainly practiced in tobacco estates in central region as most tenants migrate from southern districts of Mangochi, Machinga, Zomba, Phalombe and Thyolo who are subjected to extreme of planting, harvesting period with hazardous activities without proper gears.
Since 1992, the agony of tobacco tenants has been attracting the social sector including civil society organizations (CSOs) alerting government on terrific conditions women and children go through in practice of tenancy labour but it has been retrogressive response to come up with a legislation as most policy makers are estate owners as doing so was the same as shooting your own foot.
The recent visit to central districts of Mchinji and Kasungu in the company of Center For Social Concern (CFSC) a faith-based organization which has been advocating and pushing for the enactment of the bill, revealed the agony of many tenants who are continued to be subjected to various social injustices ranging from poor medications, sanitation, housing, water and food as most tenants wives and daughters are forced to sleep with estate owners and managers to get food.
Bester Msadabwe is one of the 350 000 tenants across the nation in dire need of protection and a victim of such inhuman acts who has been in several estates in the central region since 2013, currently is producing tobacco at a farm explains the ordeal.
“I have been in several estates in Mchinji and Salima but life hasn’t been easy just see the pathetic situation we are going through. We don’t have health facilities, school even to get water it’s a challenge.
“We are being exploited and abused. We get our wages during harvesting after farm owners come to buy tobacco at miserable prices. In fact, food and health care services are deducted from our wages that at end of growing season, we end up with nothing as low as MK40,000 for the whole work which if all these deductions weren’t done, I could get MK300,000”, lamented Msadabwe.
He recounted the ordeal where his wife and daughter were forced to sleep with the estate manager when the family didn’t have food.
“A year ago, my wife and daughter were being forced to sleep the estate owner and manager respectively just to get food and money for the family which ended the daughter impregnated. It pains me a lot which has to stop at all cost, but I don’t know how that will end”, charges Msadabwe.
This one of such pathetic conditions tobacco tenants are experiencing in several farms and estates across the nation which requires urgent attention with a law to protect the marginalized as lack of proper legislation is exposing many tobacco farmers to abuse by estate and farm owners.
In another pathetic situation, in Thyolo district as a supplying district of tenants to most central districts, estate owners are visiting the area to hire tenants flouting labour laws as such illicit arrangement ranges on resulting into tenants exposed to the same inhuman conditions when get employed.
This barbaric acts contravene labour laws which demands that anyone seeking to engage tenants from other districts should first commit themselves by appending their signatures to an attestation forms which among requirements state that the recruiters should provide free food, transport and accommodation to the tenant which is not practically done.
“Despite the law requiring that my office should coordinate tenants recruitment, some estate owners prefer to use their own agents which they end up exploited by them which we find it hard as the office to intervene when such tenants face challenges”, says Joseph Msambo, Thyolo District Labour Officer.
With the slow response to tobacco tenants challenges has been in dare dally on passing of Tenancy Labour Bill with several versions of the bill as the latest was 2010 Tenancy Labour Bill which cabinet nearly approved end of 2011 but the death of Former President Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012 disrupted the whole process as he showed total commitment on the law.
However, towards, the end of 2013, the Joyce Banda regime made reservation to pursue further the enacted of the tenancy Labour Bill on the grounds that enacting such a bill would legimitise forced labour and that the sector was modernising in the way that employment of tenancy labour would be self-eradicated as estate owners graduate into employment of hired labour and wage workers.
Surprisingly, Malawi is continuing with this oppressive system of labour while its neighbours , Zambia, Zimbabwe of the same colonial masters who championed Thangata system of labour similarly to tenancy labour in estates graduated into wage labour where tenants are paid according to work done to produce food and cash crops with contracts attached to the farming.
In this regard, contract farming which is referred as Integrated Production System (IPS) would replace the current tenancy labour whereby will raise returns to the farmers by assured market and higher prices for the produce as buyers will undertake to purchase all the produce grown, within specified quality and quantity parameters.
“Contract farming and wage labour which is embedded in the proposed tenancy labour bill is a solution towards eradication of tenants exploitation in estates and farms and it will be beneficial to both tenants and farm owners. This type of arrangement it’s bearing fruits in our neighboring countries, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe as they graduated from tenancy labour which put farmers’ lives at stake. It’s our appeal that the current regime will show commitment enacting the bill into law”, said Mathias Kafunda, CFSC Economic Justice Programs Officer
On how soon will government going to table the bill in parliament, this what Ministry of Labour Public Relations Officer, Simon Mbvundula said, “The timeframe cannot be predicted but a study will soon be conducted within the next three months for a more thorough understanding of the dynamics of tenancy labour system to guide the decisions on the way forward. ILO is supporting the study”.
Mbvundula however assured all stakeholders advocating such enacted of the legislation in the country saying government was doing possible means to address the challenges in the absence of this bill to protect tenants in tobacco and tea estates.
“The republican constitution and labour laws provide for protection of citizens against economic exploitation and abuse, although much more need to be done, hence the impending study to inform the way forward as to whether to regulate the tenancy system or simply abolish (prohibit) it.
“As a ministry our position is to completely abolish tenancy labour because of the negative impact on human rights and the fact that it perpetuates child labour. It also makes the tenants destitute. What we want to advocate is that these tenants should be given a normal wage contract just like any other form of employment. We are currently waiting for cabinet approval and we hope that an appropriate legislation will be presented to parliament in the June sitting of parliament”, assures Mbvundula.
