Disquiet over Amarula plant project

SAMUEL NJINGA

Villagers under chief Maranda in Mwenezi district, Masvingo Province have expressed disappointment after the Rutenga based Amarula plant shunned them, Business Times can report.

They said they were not benefiting from the plant.

“The President spearheaded the Rutenga Amarula plant project so that we benefit but as it stands we are benefiting virtually nothing.

We are not even able to supply our marula fruit berries that we gather here in Maranda in order for us to earn a living,” a villager, Josaya Ngwenya told Business Times.

One of the village heads in the area, Ketani Mavirimidze also said the community was made to believe that the responsible plant operators would come into our villages to collect the Amarula fruit berries. However, no one has sat foot in their village since the project was commissioned.

“We appeal to the government to intervene so that people are able to benefit out of this project,” Mavirimidze said.

Some of the villagers thought that the plant would employ local people.

But this has not happened, villagers claimed.

“When news reached our ears that an Amarula plant has been established, we rushed with our curriculum vitaes to the responsible authorities with all the hope that we were going to get employed but to no avail,” Evias Makamure said.

Business Times reporters saw some of the Amarula fruit berries gathered in Maranda rotting in the fields.

“As you can see the fruit berries are rotting before our eyes. We have got nothing to ferry them to Rutenga. Our scotch carts cannot cope with the weight neither can our donkeys brave it. We are however keen to contribute towards the expansion of this project,” another villager who only identified herself as Chipiwa said.

The multi-million dollar Rutenga Amarula processing and value addition plant was officially commissioned by the President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year. It was built by the National Biotechnology of Zimbabwe.