adminKudzanai Gerede
RESETTLED farmers in Middle-Sabi area of Chipinge who last planted their 6 000 hectares they acquired during the agrarian reform programme in 2009 have castigated the power utility, ZESA and local authorities for charging them exorbitant rates, forcing them to cease operations since the adoption of the multi-currency system. This was revealed by Middle Sabi Farmers Association president, Mr Martin Munodawafa at the Agenda For Farmers Indaba hosted by Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) in Harare this week.
The 6 000ha divided among 126 resettled farmers now resembles a thick equatorial forest as it has been idle since the disconnections of water and electricity which amounted to $11 000 per month for each farm ($7 000 electricity and $4 000 water) and had accrued over the years to approximately $ 1.1 million inclusively for the whole scheme at Middle Sabi.
“There are 9-electric pumps pumping water from Save River into the conveyance canal, we are heavily charged for that, then every farm has a pumping station from that conveyance canal into the field and that is a second heavy charge again, so this billing system makes this agrarian reform dead,” Mr Munodawafa said.
He said the resettled farmers had found a breath of life when a prospective investor in Mr Billy Rautenbach who has had successful investments in Chisumbanje and in an adjacent 3 800ha scheme with Agricultural Rural Development Authority (ARDA)in Middle Sabi, but halted his plans owing to exorbitant rates charges .
“We got an investor who wanted to partner us in the irrigation of our plantations to produce sugarcane as he had successfully done so with ARDA to produce ethanol with his GreenFuel company, but he told us that it was not sustainable to venture into such a partnership when monthly rates are as high as $11 000.
We were also into soya beans farming where we could harvest up to three tonnes, but because of the poor produce price, one would be in the negative before embarking on any farming venture, so normal investor can come on board in such a situation.
“So we have lost employment creation, we have curtailed the economic growth of our Manicaland Province and save us from the embarrassment of our idle land which is adjacent to Billy’s productive land and people are making a scorn of the agrarian reform,” he said.
He said the issue was now in the office of the Vice President after vigorous engagements with local authorities and relevant ministries had proved unyielding. He proposed for a revision of the billing ration used by the power utility which was rated highest among regional counterparts.
Electricity in the country is costing 12 cents per kilowatt compared to Zambia’s four cents and the SADC region average of 5.5 cents per kilowatt.
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) commercial director, Engineer Katsande said the company was being owed $76 million by farmers across the country and was engaging most of them to negotiate payment plans in order to be reconnected and pursue operations as the revenue collection ratio in the agriculture sector was below 50 percent, the lowest in all sector.
“To alleviate the burden we have come to propose pre-paid meters for farmers so that they can use what they can afford because since installation of meters last year the company has saved 108 megawatts.
“We are how ever committed to work with farming communities but challenges such as vandalism of equipment, outdated assets and a ballooning debtor’s book continue to derail our commitments,” he said.
Online Reporter