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President Mugabe looks on as zanu-pf secretary for Women’s Affairs First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe shakes hands with Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Senator Shuvai Mahofa before a Politburo meeting in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by Kudakwashe Hunda)

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter—
The US Government has removed Zimbabwe’s top fertiliser manufacturing firm ZFC and its parent company Chemplex Group from its illegal sanctions list in a move likely to boost fertiliser production ahead of the 2016-17 farming season. The information is on the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of Treasury of the United States

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The Chemplex Group falls under the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which is a State enterprise and its removal from the embargoes will likely boost its employment capacity to produce more fertiliser. Also removed from the sanctions list is the Zimbabwe Banking Corporation, commonly known as ZB bank.

This comes as Government has intensified preparations to ensure farmers are adequately equipped for the farming season. The recently announced Command Agriculture programme that is targeted at producing more than two million tonnes of maize and the Presidential Inputs Support Scheme that mainly assists vulnerable rural and small-scale farmers, will receive a major boost.

It is projected that by October 15, 2016 most of the farming inputs under Government’s Command Agriculture project should have reached all the targeted beneficiaries.

By last week a local seed company had already supplied 500 tonnes of maize seed, that is ready for collection in Harare while 4 380 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser would be available for collection in a fortnight.

A Harare-based fuel company has also confirmed the availability of 2 million litres of fuel for the 2016-17 farming season, while 20 000 tonnes of lime have also been secured for the same season.

Private sector players working with Government had also requested the Government to share its full procedure for the collection of the inputs so that they can start working with suppliers on the modalities for collection.

It is against this background that the lifting of the sanctions on the fertiliser company, comes as a boon for farmers and the firm. Chemplex chief executive officer Mr Misheck Kachere yesterday told The Herald that the move would boost their operations.

He said they were also now able to recover their money amounting to $2 million that was intercepted as a result of the sanctions. “When you are on sanctions, you are limited in terms of doing business and this move is going to help us a lot,” he said.

“We have been operating through other means, but now I can say business has been made easier because we can now transact with anyone across the world without having to go through intermediaries. In terms of the forthcoming agricultural season, I think it was going to help much if the sanctions had been lifted at least three months ago because we would also need to do our preparations. We hope it will help us in future but since the season runs until February next year, I can say this will help us to make fertiliser available.

“We also have our money that was intercepted and now we can start the process of reclaiming it.” He added: “The sanctions were unjust and I think this is going to help us to access funds from both local and international banks. Most banks didn’t want to deal with us because of the sanctions and I think more investors are also now going to consider us for investment.”

Individuals who were removed from the sanctions list include former Mashonaland East governor Cde Aenias Chigwedere, President Mugabe’s late sister Sabina, the late former Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Charles Utete, Mrs Jocelyn Chiwenga, former Zanu-PF Politburo member Cde Cephas Msipa and Mrs Abina Chapfika, among others.

The First Family, however, remain on sanctions. Government yesterday said it was yet to be formally informed about the latest development by the US administration.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ambassador Joey Bimha, yesterday said: “We will be ready to respond as soon as we are told formally. We cannot comment on something circulating in social media which may turn out not be correct.”