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Lovemore Chikova-Development Dialogue
It has never been in doubt from the start that the opposition, especially the MDC and its various versions including the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), desires to see problems mounting in the country so that they get an opportunity to dislodge Zanu PF.
This is revealed in the language and posture of the opposition political figures who do not wince a bit when it comes to inviting problems on the country.
Well, the most well-known weapon used by the leaders of the opposition in this endeavour has been the invitation of sanctions from Western countries, whose effect has been damaging on the economy.
Who does not remember the CCC or is it MDC Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa “proudly” proclaiming from the podium that he had moved from one country to another in Europe encouraging them to tighten the economic sanctions?
Of course, we are all aware of the infamous “sunga one sunga dozen” speech by Mr Chamisa, whose video clip went viral as Zimbabweans started questioning the calibre of the opposition leader.
And on several occasions, Mr Tendai Biti, one of the leaders in the opposition, has been out in the open criticising Command Agriculture, despite the fact that it has brought Zimbabwe to being food secure.
When he was chair of the Public Accounts Parliamentary Committee (PAC), Mr Biti alleged on several occasions that Sakunda Holdings had been awarded and misused US$3,6 billion under Command Agriculture.
He further alleged that this money disappeared without a trace — in short he was attacking Sakunda Holdings chief executive ,Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei, as having abused the funds. Mr Tagwirei was to later be put on sanctions by western countries, and it was clear to all that Mr Biti’s utterance, which have since been proved to be false, played a big role in those sanctions being imposed.
Many actually pointed a finger to Mr Biti as being responsible for these sanctions being imposed, although he tried to extricate himself from the mess.
Last year, opposition legislator, Mr Brian Dube, was appointed the new PAC chairperson, and last week he released a report on the disbursements and expenditure for Command Agriculture.
The first striking fact about the committee’s report is that it makes it clear that Government extended around US$1,1 billion to private sector participants in the Command Agriculture Programme.
This revelation alone is enough to discredit Mr Biti’s selfish utterances that come across as reckless and without any basis.
The question that remains lingering is why Mr Biti went to such lengths of announcing that US$3,6 billion had been extended to Sakunda Holdings and disappeared.
Of course, anyone who wanted to genuinely investigate the funding of Command Agriculture could have easily arrived at the figure of US$1,1 billion that was extended to Sakunda for the programme.
Another US$2,5 billion was extended to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) during the same period.
The burden now lies on Mr Biti to own up to his utterances with regards to the figure that was availed to Sakunda and apologise for misleading, not only the country, but the whole world with regards to the Command Agriculture figures.
It now becomes clear that the figure of US$3,6 billion was being floated around as a way of discrediting Sakunda Holdings as the frontrunner of the Command Agriculture programme, with the ultimate aim of ensuring the country remains food insecure.
In fact, Command Agriculture unsettled the opposition in Zimbabwe because they had not budgeted for a response to its success.
Command Agriculture became a developmental tool in terms of achieving food security which the opposition targeted to oppose in the hope that it will fail.
And the strategy of the opposition was clearly to come up with a smear campaign against those who were entrusted by Government to push forward the agricultural development programme.
This is why Sakunda Holdings and its chief executive, Mr Tagwirei, found themselves as victims of the false figures peddled around by leaders of the opposition.
To come up with its report, PAC received oral evidence from officials in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, the Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya, his deputy Dr Khuphukile Mlambo and senior officials from the Reserve Bank.
The Committee also received evidence from the Grain Marketing Board and from selected private companies that were involved with Command Agriculture that included Croco Motors, Solution Motors, Valley Seeds, Pedstock, Ferts, Seed and Grain and Sakunda Holdings.
It pointed out that several other companies had also benefited from Special Cabinet Authority to participate in the Command Agriculture programme.
“Total payments in 2017 and 2018 for Presidential Scheme is US$573,392,887.33 (paid to FSG — US$ 392,853,180.22; Quton — US$19,753,638.00; Pedstock – US$7,538,441.69; Cottco – US$30,898,812.65; Sakunda US$51,205,481.25; Sable Chemicals — US$4,900,00; Seedco — US$40,150,000.00; Valley Seeds — US$8,700,000; Windmill — US$17,800,000; and ZFC – US$17,750,000.),” noted the committee.
The contracts were facilitated by Special Cabinet Authority and thus were not subjected to public tendering processes.
The Government uses Special Cabinet Authority in exigent circumstances, as was the case when the State had to move quickly to guarantee national food security between 2016 and 2019.
Speaking during debate after presentation of the report by PAC last week, Independent MP for Norton, Mr Temba Mliswa said it was important that PAC did a breakdown of the funds availed for Command Agriculture, thereby correcting the earlier misinformation about Sakunda.
“This is the breakdown in electronic or social media claiming that (US) $3,6 billion disappeared in command agriculture,” he said. “The facts are rather simple and straight forward, in the period under discussion, the programme received (US) $3,6 billion.
“This is the breakdown of the (US) $3,6 billion which the Committee on Public Accounts managed to come up with in the inquiry — (US) $2,5 billion was for GMB, (US) $1,1 billion was for Sakunda. So, that is (US) $3,6 billion.
“The period under discussion, the programme received (US) $1,1 billion and it was fully accounted for and the reconciliation was there.”
Mr Mliswa said it was unnecessary to always be political about some entities.
“Those who are in the Committee, Sakunda had Mr Chitambo who was the Chief Operations Officer,” he said. “If there is anything, and Hon. Biti was the Chairman at the time, actually thank him (Mr Dube) for educating us because, we were all on the $3 billion which went missing until he started to break it down that at no point did Sakunda get $3,6 billion.
“Sakunda got $1,1 billion and it was accounted for to a point that there was an invitation to say come and see our records, the offices are there and so forth.”
In his submissions to PAC, Sakunda Holdings chief operating officer, Mr Charles Chitambo, said the company – along with about 40 other private sector players – was invited by President Mnangagwa (who at the time was Vice-President) to support Government efforts to improve national food security and the agricultural value chain.
PAC said: “(Mr Chitambo) indicated that the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement would advise Sakunda Holdings on the seed, fuel and fertilizer requirements for the summer and winter seasons.
“He emphasised that Sakunda also applied its rigorous selection criteria when procuring the inputs.”
Mr Chitambo revealed to the committee that in the first season (2016 -2017), Sakunda had provided (US) $85 million for the irrigated facility, (US) $75 million for the non-irrigated facility and (US) $30 million for the Presidential Input Scheme.
“The Chief Operating Officer (Mr Chitambo) indicated that from October 2016 to February 2017, Sakunda Holdings had used its balance sheet to finance the programme,” said PAC.
“The Chief Operating Officer indicated that the amount paid to Sakunda totalled US$1,1 billion.”
During the parliamentary debate reacting to the PAC report, Dzivarasekwa legislator Mr Edwin Mushoriwa said food provision was important and agriculture played a pivotal role in the economy.
“It is a very noble thing for this country to feed its people,” he said. “It is also noble that Zimbabwe gets back to the position where it was as the breadbasket of Southern Africa.”
MP for Hurungwe North, Ability Musavaya Gandawa, said the thinking behind Command Agriculture was to improve self-sufficiency in agriculture.
“The idea behind Command Agriculture was noble and important for the good of our country,” he said.
Online Reporter