ZIMBABWE’S tobacco farmers say they feel cheated after government banned cash payments at auction floors, days before the start of the 2016 selling season.
BY TARISAI MANDIZHA
According to the new system introduced by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), farmers can now only receive payments for tobacco sold at auction floors through banks.
Last Friday, farmers said they had not received their money, three days after the auction floors opened in Harare, raising questions on the efficacy of the new payment system.
Farmers are not the only ones that have been affected by the new system, as vendors and other businesses that had thrived on activity at the tobacco auction floors are counting their losses too.
Nokias Chirichedu from Karoi, who sold his tobacco at Premier Tobacco Auction Floor, said he would be forced to stay in Harare longer, waiting for his money, as he had opened an account with MBCA Bank, which has no branch in his home town.
“We were forced to open bank accounts with MBCA Bank and some of these banks are not available in our areas. For example in Karoi there is no MBCA Bank branch,” he said.
“Since the opening of the floors up to today (Friday), we have not received our money and we have no cash for food.
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“Vendors are taking our national IDs in exchange for food, so that as soon as we get paid, we pay them before getting back our IDs.
“We are pleading with government to assist by speeding up the process (of getting money paid into bank accounts). It would be greatly appreciated.”
Another farmer, who was at Premier Tobacco Auction Floor, Tapera Murwadzi from Mount Darwin, said he sold his tobacco on Thursday around 9am, but was still waiting for payment on Friday afternoon.
“We are not happy with the system. If only a person could sell and receive their money earlier it would have been okay, but it’s now two days and still we have no idea when we will receive our money,” he complained.
“The idea of us opening bank accounts was okay. If only the system was working effectively, but now we have a problem with this whole thing and we think it’s fraud.”
Moses Chinhandare said the new payment system had inconvenienced farmers, most of them from outside Harare.
“Since Wednesday, no one has been given money. We don’t even know what to do or who to ask,” he said.
“We tried to talk to the people at Premier Tobacco Auction Floor yesterday (Thursday) and they said they were sorting out the problem, but until today (Friday) there is nothing that has been done. “We are not happy with the move by the government to introduce bank accounts because it is now causing many problems,” he said.
Chinhandare claimed everyone selling their crop through Premier Tobacco Auction Floor was forced to open an account with MBCA Bank, although the institution was not available in rural areas.
“We are not happy with the issue of bank accounts. We were forced to open accounts with MBCA Bank, which does not have a branch in Hurungwe and Karoi,” he said.
Tariro Musiwa from Karoi said she had given her car to vendors as surety for the money she owed them for food while waiting for her payment.
A farmer at Boka Tobacco Auction Floors, Spilile Machandu from Centenary, said she sold her tobacco on Wednesday, but had not been paid on Friday.
Machandu said although she got her cheque on the same day, she was told there was no cash at CABS, where she opened an account.
“We are not happy, we were given a cheque yesterday (Thursday) at Boka Tobacco Auction Floors, but we were told there was no money at the bank,” she said.
“Later, we were only told to go to the CABS branch at TSL. When we went there today we were told the transaction had not yet gone through.
“So since Wednesday we have been to the floors and we have no money. This is a challenge as we have no food to eat or a place to sleep.”
Machandu said the new payment system was to blame for the problems facing farmers this season. Bigboy Chiveve from Shamva said although the new system was progressive, the government must have ensured it works before rolling it out.
“We want the system improved,” he said. “In the past we would receive our money as soon as we sold the tobacco, but now it’s taking several days.”
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Wonder Chabikwa said the payment system was not well thought-out and had disadvantaged farmers.
“That’s the problem. This thing (payment system) was done in a hurry. If they wanted to produce a new system, they could have done it properly, but now the farmers are being inconvenienced,” he said.
“What must be done is that TIMB should use the old system, while the banking system is being sorted out, so that it does not inconvenience our farmers.”
However, TIMB chairperson, Monica Chinamasa on Friday said she was not aware of the problems facing farmers, referring questions to chief executive officer, Andrew Matibiri.
Matibiri was not available for comment.
Sources told NewsDay that the auction floors were supposed to have arranged overdraft facilities as bridge finance, as merchants were supposed to pay for tobacco purchases within 48 hours from receiving invoices from the auction floors.
During the previous tobacco selling seasons, the auction floors were a hive of activity, where traders dealing in clothing, food, electronics and hardware thrived.
Then, tobacco farmers would cash their cheques at the banks at the auction floors and instantly start shopping around.
The tobacco marketing season started brightly with a kg of the golden leaf fetching $4,50 a price higher than last year selling season whose opening price was $2,50 per kg.
