AMA impounds cotton

Sophia Chese Herald Correspondent
The Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), on Thursday impounded cotton that was allegedly side marketed at New Cabview Trading, a local cotton company.

AMA, with police assistance, impounded 242 bales of seed cotton and 182 bales of lint cotton.

However, the company denied the allegations of side marketing the cotton, saying the bales in question belonged to Chief Nemangwe of Gokwe.

In an interview, company spokesperson Mr Tawanda Maradzikwa, said Chief Nemangwe had given them the cotton for safekeeping.

“The cotton does not belong to us. Chief Nemangwe gave us the cotton for safekeeping and we don’t know why AMA is failing to understand this. They think we are illegally buying and selling the cotton but we are not,” he said.

He, however, admitted that they did not have the licence to buy and sell the cotton, but to process cotton into lint.

“We do not have a buying licence. We are just a ginnery and our duty is to process cotton and we have told them this and we don’t know why they are taking the cotton away,” he said.

AMA also took a lorry loaded with cotton lint which Maradzikwa said belonged to one G Maparura.

AMA chief executive Mr Rockie Mutenha, refused to comment on the issue and referred all questions to the organisation’s lawyer who could not be reached on his phone.