Zimbabwe has been experiencing meat shortages since the beginning of July, when the government introduced a controversial price control operation which forced companies to reduce prices of goods by half.
Several private abattoirs were also shut down by the government, which immediately appointed the CSC to be the country’s sole processor of meat.
However, some private abattoirs were re-licensed and sub-contracted to the state-run company, after it had failed to meet the country’s beef supply.
Sources told The Zimbabwean early this week that some senior employees at the CSC were illegally selling meat to individuals closely-linked to them, who sold it on the illegal but thriving parallel market.
“There are always scores of people the company premises awaiting their orders from senior employees, who have the power to divert the beef meant for butcheries,” said a source who works at the CSC’s branch in Belmont.
Some of the several people who spoke to this reporter while milling around the company’s main gate on Monday morning confirmed that they were indeed street vendors awaiting their orders from CSC employees.
“We pay them in the evening and they deliver the meat to us in the morning, as their trucks leave form deliveries to butcheries. They sell the meat to us at Z$2 million for a kilogram,” said a vendor who refused to disclose her name for fear of being blacklisted by the suppliers.
There are said to be two types of buyers, with one group buying packaged beef for resale to mostly small-scale vendors, while the other group buys small pieces, which it sells directly to consumers at shopping centres in the city.
Police sources at Donnington police station, which is nearest to the CSC abattoir, confirmed the new trend, saying they had been instructed to carry out random raids of people coming from the CSC.
“Last week we arrested more than 10 people who are known vendors and they confirmed having bought the meat, which they were carrying in sacks and bags, from the CSC employees. We have since opened dockets for them,” said a police source.
No official comment could be obtained from the CSC management, while police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena said that the lawmen would investigate the allegations. – Bayethe Zitha
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