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Noah Pito in HURUNGWE
All tobacco companies operating in Hurungwe District will with effect from the next tobacco cropping season be required to sign a memorandum of understanding with Hurungwe Rural District Council to regulate their operations. This follows concerns that tobacco contractors and farmers do not respect council by-laws and tenets of corporate social responsibility.

The resolution, which received the thumbs-up at a full council meeting at Magunje Growth Point last Friday, will see companies violating the MoU being barred from operating in the district.

HRDC chief executive officer Mr Joram Moyo said: “This move came after considering the impact tobacco farming is causing to our forests and the environment in general. Forests are being destroyed daily . . . with convoys of scotchcarts also daily carrying loads of firewood for tobacco curing. The companies are doing nothing to help the situation.

“The destruction has grown out of hand especially in wards 11, 15, 25 and 26 to mention a few. If we say every farmer they fund must use coal or must be assisted to establish a woodlot, then let it be so. The MoU, in fact, prescribes rules and regulations under which we want them to operate not what they want.”

Hurungwe district administrator Ms Tsana Chirau said although contractors were raking in huge profits, they were not forthcoming in fulfilling their corporate social obligations.

“In Hurungwe roads are in a deplorable state while some of our clinics are facing drugs and equipment shortages. It has been a long time since the mortuary at Karoi Hospital functioned. We expect them to help in such cases.

“Despite exposing these farmers’ health to danger through dangerous chemicals, they have not come up with programmes to assist any clinic in the area.

“They come and make big business, pocket the proceeds and leave without giving any attention to some of the problems bedevilling the farmers they transact business with. There is a lot of deforestation going on in the area with dangerous pesticides also wreaking havoc in our ecosystems.

“We urge these companies to do something as a way of paying back to the community. They must get the example from how cotton companies that operated in Gokwe over the years rehabilitated and constructed roads for the Gokwe community.

“According to TIMB, Hurungwe has more than 22 000 registered tobacco farmers, a figure far larger than that for Manicaland Province as a whole. This is ample confirmation that tobacco companies must assist us in a bigger way as we are larger players in the tobacco industry.
“I will soon convene a meeting with the tobacco companies where this issue will be topical,” she said.

Ward 26 Councillor Alderman Nesto Chakamuka said transporters of tobacco were also expected to plough back to the community since they left the roads dilapidated.