Angry former white commercial farmers who lost their land during the land reform exercise are behind the current cash shortages as they are destroying bonds notes, resettled farmers here were told over the weekend.
Hundreds of resettled farmers at Igava area on Sunday attended a meeting, which was addressed by several Zanu PF officials, war veterans and government officials to drum up support for President Robert Mugabe’s anticipated rally at Rudhaka Stadium on 3 June.
A NewZimbabwe.com correspondent who attended the meeting, heard one of the government official present who was only identified as Nyoka, telling the farmers that the current cash shortages in the country were caused by white former commercial farmers who were collecting bond notes and destroying them by burning while smuggling the US dollars out of the country.
“As government, we are aware that you are failing to get cash for the tobacco that you would have delivered at the auction floors,” Nyoka told the farmers.
“The reason behind that is the white farmers who used to occupy this land before you are still angry. These white farmers are collecting all the bond notes in the banks and burning them so that you don’t get anything while the same people are taking the remaining US dollars to Britain so that we are left with no cash in the country.”
Farmers were engaged in running battles with the anti-riot police in Harare last week, after they failed to get cash for their tobacco deliveries from the banks.
Nyoka told the farmers told the farmers to ignore the current challenges as “President Mugabe is not sleeping to make sure that they are resolved. He urged them to make adequate preparations and attend Mugabe’s 3 June rally.
“I have heard some of you saying there is no need to attend the event because it is for the youth. No. You should attend whether you are 55, 60 years or older than President Mugabe.
“On that day make sure that you don’t travel to Harare to sell your tobacco as you should be with your president.”
Igava is one of the prime tobacco farming areas in Mashonaland East.
Mugabe is expected to kick start a meet-the-youth programme organised by the Zanu PF Youth League at Rudhaka Stadium on 3 June, before visiting all the other provinces as preparations for the 2018 elections gather pace.-Online
