Biti hits back at Mugabe
By Gift Phiri, Senior Writer
Thursday, 23 February 2012 12:00
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s underperforming farmers have received over $2 billion
since the formation of the coalition government in 2009, laying bare claims
by President Robert Mugabe that Finance minister Tendai Biti is deliberately
starving newly resettled farmers.
The farmers, who received large swathes of land under the controversial land
reform programme, include many of Mugabe’s ministers, military and police
commanders, intelligence officers and Zanu PF officials.
Biti said the over $2 billion pumped into agriculture in the past three
years excluded millions of dollars worth of freebies that included fuel,
tractors, and other farming implements dished out during the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s runaway days before the formation of the coalition
government.
Mugabe last week heaped blame on Biti to justify the poor performance of new
farmers, many who have abandoned farming operations to leave the country
fighting a perennial food deficit.
But Biti yesterday rubbished Mugabe’s accusations that he was deliberately
withholding state loans to farmers from Zanu PF who seized white-owned
commercial farms under a land reform project described by critics as
haphazard and often violent.
Mugabe says the mass eviction of white farmers to resettle blacks was
necessary to address colonial imbalances, although most beneficiaries have
little to show for the free windfalls they have been getting from
government.
Biti said he had actually scaled up funding for agriculture from $18,9
million in 2009 to $615 million in 2011.
“In addition to direct budget support amounting to about $615 million
between 2009 and 2011, the private sector and international partners have
also been supporting agriculture, making total support to the sector of more
than US$1,9 billion during the same period,” Biti said.
Agriculture contributes an average 15 percent to GDP but could be doing more
if resettled farmers worked harder, according to Biti.
“The growing support to agriculture also reflects government’s commitment to
implement and fulfil obligations with regards to meeting the stipulated
funding threshold under the Maputo Declaration of 2003 on Agriculture and
Food Security which Zimbabwe is signatory to.”
The Maputo Declaration requires that expenditure on land, agriculture and
water must be at least 10 percent of the budget.
Mugabe, who turned 88 on Tuesday, told state-run media in a birthday
interview that Biti was not making policies that were economically
beneficial to the agriculture-based economy.
“Farmers are always ready, raring to go,” Mugabe said.
“But we fail them. They do not have inputs, even where they have the money.
Just imagine — they could not get fertiliser for two reasons: fertiliser was
scarce and where it was available, they did not have money to purchase it.
Why?”
Because their money was locked up in deliveries of maize and wheat that have
not been paid for by the minister of Finance.
“You have maize that was grown last year that was paid for partially. All
the wheat of last year has not been paid for.”
But Biti insisted that Zimbabwe’s slow recovery from a decade of severe
economic meltdown was a direct result of Mugabe’s refusal to implement
reforms envisaged under the power-sharing Global Political Agreement.
The minister said government was cash-strapped, with 260 000 civil servants
gobbling 70 percent of the national budget, leaving very little cash to
bankroll agriculture.
He said payment for grain deliveries made to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
towards the Government’s Strategic Grain Reserve will be disbursed this week
after he accessed cash from the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights accounts.
“As of February 17, 2012, farmers are owed a total of $30,5 million against
2011 grain deliveries to the GMB as follows: $24,935 million for 2011 maize
and small grains; and $5,557 million for 2011 wheat deliveries,” he said.
“Treasury has instituted measures to liquidate the above grain payment
obligation to farmers. These will take the combination of direct budget
disbursement to the GMB for payment to farmers as well as utilisation of
some of the GMB grain sales realisations.”
“Biti said he was allocating $20 million from the $110 million withdrawn
from the IMF’’s SDR account to bankroll the outstanding GMB payments. Mugabe
had accused Biti of “just sitting on the SDR”.
“With regards to the fiscus, resources amounting to US$20 million (from the
IMF SDR account) announced in my press statement of January 25, 2012 towards
support to agriculture will be disbursed this week towards payment of
farmers’ deliveries to the GMB,” Biti said.
Biti said he would settle the balance of $10,5 million, by raising
additional resources through GMB grain sales to millers out of the
Government’s Strategic Grain Reserve holding.
“Out of negotiations with grain millers, GMB will sell 140 000 tons of maize
to millers at a price of $275 per ton,” Biti said.
“This is also on condition that the millers will maintain the current market
price of mealie meal. As a result, this enables us to realise $38,5 million
that is enough to liquidate the balance of $10,5 million for grain
deliveries. This will leave a balance of about $28 million, which will be
utilised to liquidate other obligations to seed and fertiliser companies.”
He said to ensure accountability of these resources, the GMB will be
directed to deposit all the proceeds realised into its CBZ account and make
the necessary arrangements for farmers to be paid.
“Furthermore, the GMB will be required to update Treasury on the utilisation
of the funds on a weekly basis,” he said.
Government obligations to seed houses currently stand at $27,7 million for
maize and small grains seed delivered for the 2011/2012 Summer Crop.
Of this, $5,2 million was due in December 2011, $4,8 million in March 2012
and $17,8 million in May 2012.
Biti insisted that he has been prioritising the agriculture sector through
various support initiatives and programmes, rejecting Mugabe’s accusations
as “electioneering”.
He said key support programmes include the provision of Research and
Extension Services, including training and availing of relevant information
to farmers; crop input pack schemes for vulnerable groups; subsidised inputs
such as seed and fertiliser; guaranteeing a market for farmers through
purchasing of grain for the Strategic Grain Reserve; livestock development
programmes; and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure among other
support initiatives.