Government owes millions for maize as supplies run out

By Tererai Karimakwenda
17 August 2006

As Zimbabweans run around from shop to shop and to black market vendors looking for scarce maize meal, it has been revealed that the government owes millions of US dollars to companies that have been supplying the Grain Marketing Board for years. Former head of the GMB and MDC shadow agricultural minister Renson Gasela told us the government does not have enough money to import maize and other basic commodities like fuel. He said years ago the Mugabe regime stopped using the tender system that requires contracts to be given to companies that offer the best prices for maize. Instead they have been getting this essential food staple on credit from companies that are being paid in bits and pieces.

Gasela agreed with reports that the situation on the ground is grim. He explained how there is very little maize in the urban areas and none at all in the rural communities. He said some farmers in some of the rural areas harvested nothing this year and the GMB has no reserves. And without any maize getting to the millers there is no mealie-meal getting to the shops and to Zimbabweans who rely on it daily.

Gasela reminded us that last year the government said they expected to harvest 2.4 million tonnes of maize. Then only last month the finance minister told a parliamentary portfolio committee that we had harvested just 750,000 tonnes. At that time the government also said the country would continue to import more maize. Gasela said this is because they already knew we would not have enough maize.

It has become a standard operating procedure for government officials to deny reports of food shortages only to turn around and admit it indirectly when the situation is critical. Robert Mugabe himself told BBC news last year the United Nations should stop trying to force feed Zimbabwe because we had enough food. Then months later the UN revealed it was feeding millions of Zimbabweans with approval from the government. With the economy continuing to spiral downward there is no clear plan announced by government yet as to how they plan to pay for food and fuel and to service the country’s international debts.