MBERENGWA---Riot police assaulted villagers in Mberengwa last week for demanding money they are owed by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot here for maize delivered as long ago as July.?The incident took place at Mataga growth point where villagers were protesting the failure of the parastatal to pay them for their produce.?
Riot police were called in to disperse the angry protesters who were threatening to break into the depot to confront GMB officials.?GMB officials who spoke to The Zimbabwean on Tuesday at Mataga on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak to the press said the parastatal has no money to pay the farmers.?
We understand the plight of the rural farmers but the fact is that GMB is broke and has no money to pay them at the moment for their maize deliveries. We will only do so after the government releases funds to the parastatal, he said.
But irate villagers blasted the GMB for being dishonest, saying that the parastatal should have told them it was broke before taking their maize.
.?I have been waiting for my payment for the past three months and every time I come to enquire I am told the accountant is away. We worked for this and they should respect us by giving us our money, said Fabion Hove one of the affected communal farmers .?
Another protester ,Duncan Zhou said: We want our money; I am surprised that these GMB officials are behaving like this. They are refusing to pay us but they know very well, thats the same money we use to buy inputs for the coming farming season
Post published in: Politics