No hope of recouping debts: Arda
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
Friday, 29 July 2011 10:49
Paidamoyo Muzulu
THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) has lost hope of
recouping any money from institutions and politicians who benefited from the
10-million euros tractors bought for agricultural mechanisation in early
2000.
According to Arda chairman Basil Nyabadza, 428 tractors were bought from
Iranian manufacturer Itmoc for the first phase of government’s farm
mechanisation programme at the height of farm invasions.
Nyabadza told the Zimbabwe Independent on Tuesday that the process to
recover money from tractor beneficiaries was time-consuming and would cost
the authority a fortune.
He revealed that the scheme’s beneficiaries had not paid a cent to Arda
despite numerous letters of demand.
Nyabadza disclosed that the tractor scheme was seriously abused and
beneficiaries were refusing to pay for the equipment because they believed
they were entitled to freely benefit from the land reform programme.
“It’s costly to engage lawyers to ask the farmers and beneficiaries to pay,”
he said. “We are, however, hopeful that the beneficiaries will behave
honourably and settle what they owe the authority. The assets were grossly
abused. Beneficiaries saw Arda equipment as their right and abused it
thereby greatly undermining the authority’s effort to remain capitalised,”
said Nyabadza.
Arda’s position mirrors that of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which is also
failing to recover US$198 million from farmers who benefited under phase two
of the government’s farm mechanisation programme.
Under this scheme, the RBZ distributed 2 134 tractors, 879 ploughs, 840
harrows, 342 planters, 282 vicons, 69 combine harvesters and 19 hay balers
to A2 farm beneficiaries.
RBZ governor Gideon Gono told parliament last week that there was no
political will to recover debts from beneficiaries.
The full list of beneficiaries has not been disclosed but it is believed
that the majority are ministers, senior civil servants and senior Zanu PF
members.
The farm mechanisation debts are very significant in the national debt
presently pegged at over US$8 billion. Zimbabwe has been cut off from most
offshore lines of credit for failing to service its debts.