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GMB's seizure of maize leaves families in distress
Rutendo Mawere,The Standard (Zimbabwe)
October 17, 2004

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/read.php?st_id=771

SEVERAL desperate families who are resorting to rural areas for grain end up the losers as the State run Grain Marketing Board (GMB) intensifies its crackdown on "illegal" grain dealers.

Investigations by The Standard reveal that overzealous GMB officials, in many cases, are impounding all the maize they find in the possession of people returning from rural areas.

Officially, a person is only allowed to carry 150kg of maize and any extra grain can be impounded by the GMB because of poor deliveries to its depots.

So far, the GMB has only received about 300 000 tonnes of the grain.

Officials say they are optimistic they will meet the estimated 2,4 million tonne harvest this year.

Tafara Gweru, a new farmer from Shurugwi had his maize impounded along the Masvingo- Beitbridge highway on Monday last week .

"I had seven 50kg bags of maize which were meant for three families. We had contributed money for fuel with my young brothers to go and collect maize from our farm in Mvuma. I tried in vain to explain why I had more than the stipulated amount. I then asked the officials to leave me with 150 kgs and take away the rest but they ignored my pleas and took all the maize," said Gweru who says he is struggling to feed his family.

Gweru has kept the receipts as evidence that the GMB impounded his maize.

Other affected people who spoke to The Standard complained that even the 150 kg limit was too little considering that maize had become too expensive for low income people living in urban areas.

With the rising cost of fuel and at times its unavailability, they said, it was necessary for them to carry as much as they could each time they visited their rural areas.

"150 kg is a non-starter. I have got eight children and an extended family. The stipulated kgs can only last for about two and a half months. I cannot afford to go to my rural home each time we have exhausted the maize supplies," said another Harare resident who identified himself only as A Chipaumire.

Fares for rural buses rose sharply last week, with travellers to areas such as Muzarabani and Dotito in Mashonaland Central now paying between $38 000 and $40 000 a single trip. Operators cite the high cost of procuring replacement parts, most of which require foreign currency and increases in the price of fuel.

The Standard heard that some corrupt GMB officials were also worsening the situation by allegedly demanding bribes before they allow travellers to pass through the checkpoints with their maize.

"We are left with no option but to share with the officials so that we can proceed with the maize," said one Harare man.

Retired Colonel Samuel Muvhuti, the chief executive officer of the GMB, was not immediately available for comment.

However, a loss control official who spoke to The Standard said: "It is only the surplus that is supposed to be impounded."

Government has designated maize a specified crop that should be delivered only to GMB depots immediately after harvest.

The GMB is the sole buyer of maize in the whole country as stipulated by the GMB Act, which compels farmers to register with the organisation and to deliver their produce within 14 days of harvesting.

The Act prohibits farmers from exporting grain without the permission of the board.

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