“The farmers can’t pay up their bills in time and this is affecting our operations. They just tell us that they don’t have money but they expect a standard service from us,” said Commercial Manager Kripson Mutyambizi.
“This is contributing to massive load shedding since the operational costs of running Kariba and Hwange power stations comes from consumption charges. We want them to pay up so that we can improve our service,” he added.
The company has forged an alliance with the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union to assist in collecting revenue from defiant farmers.
“The deal is that those who want to get assistance from the union must first settle their electricity bills. You cannot do proper farming without electricity, because you need to irrigate your crops,” said Mutyambizi.
Farmers interviewed said they cannot pay because they were not receiving adequate support from the Government. They said they need massive capital to buy equipment and inputs so that they embark into meaningful commercial farming.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said people who took over farms should take farming as a serious business, which should boost the struggling economy.
The minister said he was against Zanu (PF)’s idea of parcelling out free inputs to farmers every farming season saying such system had promoted a culture of laziness and dependence.
Post published in: Economy