What makes this revelation particularly sad is that more than 1,4 million people currently need food aid and government and the donor community are struggling to ensure that households experiencing severe food hunger are fed.
The 10,000 tonnes could have gone a long way in alleviating the hunger being faced by poor households that harvested little during the 2011-12 season, mainly because of drought and the scarcity of inputs.
To make matters worse, we hear that several thousands of tonnes of maize meant for consumption by locals are held up in Zambia, which is demanding a handling fee.
In the meantime, the price of the grain that is currently locally available is going up, a trend that comes with scarcity. This will increase the vulnerability of households already struggling to make ends meet, as it means that they would have to search further to raise the money to buy grain.
Of course, it is a fact that GMB’s silos are in a dilapidated state, and we have known this for a long time. What we don’t accept is that it has taken so long to repair the storage facilities to maximise our grain reserves.
The protracted failure by government to rehabilitate the silos is telling evidence of its misplaced priorities. We acknowledge that the economy is still in the doldrums and there is not much Treasury can do. However, we question some of the spending that we see. For example, as we have pointed out in the past, we do not see any sense in government spending so much money on travel.
Whenever he goes out of the country on personal or government business, President Robert Mugabe takes with him an unbelievably large entourage. We have also come to learn that some senior government officials are allocating their wives mini-motorcades at the taxpayers’ expense. Surely this should be avoided?
Furthermore, the GMB tells us that, for the first time in many years, it has posted a profit amounting to close to $7 million. We hope that, instead of using this money on top management’s perks, it will see fit to channel it towards the repair of the silos.
The health, stability and welfare of any nation depends on food security. There is therefore need for the government to make this a top priority.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga