Senior Zanu-PF official threatens Tongaat Hullet

MASVINGO Provincial Governor Titus Maluleke has warned that the Government might be forced to take over Tongaat Hullet if the South African agro-industrial giant continues to frustrate the indigenisation and economic empowerment drive.

Speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony of the construction of an office complex by the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Development Association (ZSDA) in Chiredzi on Monday, Governor Maluleke also urged sugarcane growers to show their appreciation to President Mugabe for giving them land by resoundingly voting for him and Zanu-PF in the forthcoming harmonised elections.

He said Tongaat Hullet was thwarting the implementation of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act by refusing to avail 51 percent of its stake to indigenous investors.

"Tongaat Hullet is refusing to adhere to the law," he said.

"I wrote a letter to Minister (of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment) Kasukuwere telling him to come down here to deal with Tongaat.  We agreed that the story about Tongaat must be finalised.  We might be forced to invoke Chapter 5 of the Indigenisation Act.  That chapter has two options for companies defying the Act, either you close shop or we take over.  The option that we have is to take over.  We will not close Tongaat to make our fellow indigenous Zimbabweans jobless.  If this continues, we might be forced to take over.  There will be no victimisation of anyone from the managers to the cane cutter."

Tongaat Hullet is the country's biggest single sugarcane grower and processor.  It owns tens of thousands of hectares of cane estates in the lowveld and the only two mills in the lowveld.

"You are beneficiaries of the land reform programme," he told ZSDA members.

"Demonstrate that you value your land, your country; which did not come on a silver platter, but through blood.  Many people died in the struggle fighting for this land; they were saying the land is ours.  Value your inheritance; let us be proud of it.  Let me say, one good turn deserves another.  President Mugabe gave you land for free, you did not pay a cent for this land, now all of you are successful farmers.  You give him just your vote in return; you and your workers.  He does not want any money from you.  Every morning when you give your workers tasks at the assembly point go with that message.  We got this land because of President Mugabe and we go for elections to defend it through our vote.  He is the most qualified person to be president of this country."

The ZSDA bought a 280 square metre stand in the commercial business district of Chiredzi town where the association would build a double-storey office complex.

Governor Maluleke applauded the resourcefulness shown by the association to use members' contributions to buy the stand and build the double-storey facility in the central business district.  He criticised some cane growers' associations that had their offices built by funds from the European Union saying this is inconsistent with the spirit of land reform programme.

He said the future of the cane growing sector was bright despite the challenges farmers face in securing long-term finance and machinery like tractors and haulage trucks.  He urged farmers to form consortiums, bringing their pieces of land together and run them as estates.

Speaking at the same event, ZSDA chairman, Mr Edmore Veterai, also blasted Tongaat Hullet for coming up with an indigenisation plan which failed to get Government approval.  He said his association is crafting a blueprint for the sugarcane sector, Vision 2025, which seeks to expand cane growing beyond the southeast lowveld as well as improve farmers' viability.  He said the ZSDA wants to build the office complex "in record time."

"We want our farmers to get bigger pieces of land," he said.

"We are proposing a minimum farm size of 30 hectares, not 10ha that some of our members in Chipiwa have.  More successful farmers can have 100ha and institutions such as war veterans can get up to 200ha.  Farmers need more land to be successful.  Being rich is not a crime."

He thanked President Mugabe for giving people land.

Meanwhile, Cde Maluleke said the Government would ensure that farmers who benefited from the A1 scheme would be speedily given permits for their occupation to be legal.  Many such farmers in Masvingo have, since 2000, been occupying parts of Nuanetsi Ranch which is owned by the Development Trust of Zimbabwe.  He said Section 291 of the draft constitution would require farmers to have permits, offer letters or leases.