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Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT is going ahead with plans to revive the Cotton Marketing Board to protect farmers who are at the mercy of unscrupulous contractors, Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko has said.

He made the remarks while touring Mashonaland Central province recently.

Farmers in the province complained about low cotton prices and the arbitrary attachment of their properties and livestock by contractors.

The farmers are also sceptical about Government taking over the sector fearing they might lose just like those who delivered their grain to the Grain Marketing Board.

“There is definitely no going back on CMB. The challenge is that parastatals are autonomous, with Government monitoring from a distance. The problem we had is that some of the people in these parastatals have been concentrating on giving each other perks. But trust me, CMB will be taken care of,” said VP Mphoko.

He was addressing villagers at Muzarabani Secondary School.

Chief Kasekete raised concern about the behaviour of some contractors.

“The farmers are not able to clear their debts at Cottco because their cotton is being bought at $0,30 per kg. As a result their properties and livestock are being attached. We implore Government to intervene and save the farmers.

“If it is the leadership at Cottco that has problems, then they have to be removed because they are killing the industry,” said Chief Kasekete.

VP Mphoko, who later toured the Cottco depot in the district, implored management to stop attaching smallholder farmers’ properties but negotiate payment terms with them.

Cottco business manager for the Muzarabani depot, Mr Maxmore Njanji said they only attached properties of contracted farmers who sold their produce to Cottco competitors.

He said they were owed $6 million by farmers.

“We have a serious problem of some contracted farmers who are doing side-marketing. Those are the only people who are affected by these attachments. We use the legal route in attaching the properties.

“As an industry we are in the intensive care. We need help,” said Mr Njanji.

He said one of the major reasons cotton prices were low was because the major consumers of lint, among them Indonesia, China and India, had huge stocks.