Police arrests Gweru farmer
VINCENT MHENE IN GWERU
The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and the police this week confiscated about 38 metric tonnes of maize from a Gweru-based farmer and businessman Kevin Franceys who has been buying the crop illegally from villagers who benefitted from Pfumvudza/ Intwasa and Presidential Farming Inputs Schemes.
The seizure of the grain and arrest of Franceys came after a raid on the property, Umhlali farm, following a tip-off.
Franceys, the proprietor of the livestock farming business, A.G Franceys and Sons, stands accused of allegedly violating Statutory Instrument 145 of 2019, which forbids private sales of maize.
Under the SI 145 of 2019, only the GMB is permitted to buy maize from the producers or export the commodity.
When Business Times visited the farm in Chiwundura together with the GMB officials and police officers, workers at the farm were in the process of grading some of the maize, that according to the employees was meant to be processed into chicken feed, and some to be sold to the GMB.
This publication also learnt through some of the workers that A.G Franceys and Sons bought maize from farmers as far as Gokwe and paid about US$14 per 50kg bag of maize.
In some instances, farmers would bring as much as 8 metric tonnes of maize to sell to A.G Franceys and Sons, the workers revealed.
GMB Southern Region Security Officer Boniface Mabhaudi told Business Times that the sole grain buyer set up a buying point near Umhlali farm.
But, for the last three months there was no maize delivered to the station.
Farmers preferred to sell their maize to AG Franceys and Sons.
“We have a buying point that we set up three months ago less than 10 kilometres from Franceys farm, and since then we have not recorded any maize deliveries from the community.
We then got a tip from some people that A.G Franceys and Sons was buying all the maize,” Mabhaudi told Business Times.
He said Franceys had violated SI 145 of 2019 by buying maize directly from producers without authorisation from the GMB; hence they were seizing the maize found on-site. The maize was taken to GMB Gweru depot pending litigation against A.G Franceys and Sons.
Commenting on the matter, Franceys said he was buying the maize to help local farmers who were struggling to sell to the national grain silo.
“We have a history of nearly 90 years with Chiwundura, supporting this community. I have been buying maize from them, to support them. I do understand the Statutory Instrument (145 of 2019), but I thought my relationship with Chiwundura would suffice for me to help them.”
Franceys added: “We were importing maize but GMB stopped the permits before the maize started coming in so we ended up with two months where there was no maize. We had to keep feeding our chickens and how do we survive?”
Police also confiscated records showing transactions for some of the maize purchases done at the farm and took Franceys to Gweru Rural Police Station where a docket was opened. He was being represented by his lawyers Danziger and Partners.
According to SI 145 of 2019, one faces “a fine not exceeding three times the value of such controlled product, calculated on the current selling price of the GMB within Zimbabwe of the highest grade or class of that controlled product or eight hundred dollars, whichever is greater, or in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years,” if found guilty of contravening the regulations.
Zimbabwe requires about 2m metric tonnes of maize and GMB is confident the country would get more than 3m metric tonnes of maize from farmers during the 2021 grain marketing season.
This means, the country may cut down on grain imports of over US$500m. The marketing season opened on April 1, 2021.
The GMB has also increased collection points to 1 365 as part of efforts to decongest GMB depots in compliance with Covid-19 guidelines and to bring convenience to farmers.
