Minister: Stop giving cows ‘contraceptives’

via Minister: Stop giving cows ‘contraceptives’ 30 August 2014

ENERGY Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire on Friday lashed out at newly resettled black farmers for ruining and failing to revive the once thriving cattle ranching sector adding some farmers had effectively put their herds on “family planning” programmes.

Mavhaire, who is also Zanu PF’s secretary for production and labour, was addressing hundreds of resettled farmers at a field day in Marahwa community in Zvimba.

The minister said before the land reforms began in 2000, the Cold Storage Commission (CSC) was performing very well in processing and marketing of beef since its inception in 1937.

Speaking in Shona, Mavhaire had no kind words for the resettled black farmers whom he accused of feeding their cattle with contraceptive pills so that they won’t breed.

“Avhara Cold Storage ndiani? Ivhu takatora minda takakagovana, inofanira kuvhurwa chete hatifanire kuregera yakadaro (Who has caused the collapse of Cold Storage? We took the land and parcelled it amongst ourselves, now we must ensure that CSC re-opens),” he said.

“Varimi vari kuno vari kutora mombe vachiisa pafamily planning, chii chamunoita ichocho, mombe imwe chete makore mashanu isati yaita mhuru. (You are busy feeding the cattle with contraceptives).”

“Vamwe vari kuchengeta zvibhuru hanzi ndipo pana sekuru, muchitadza kutengesa mombe dzakadai, chiiko chamuri kuita ichocho? Makare kare taiti honai mombe dzekumapurazi dzakanaka nekuti dzedu hadzina pekufura, vanhu ngavadzidziswe, kwete kupedza nguva nemombe idzi muchitadza kusimudzira kambami yamauraya uye nekuita mari.”

The Cold Storage Company (CSC)’s abattoirs in Harare, Marondera and Bulawayo have virtually collapsed following President Robert Mugabe’s chaotic and violent land reforms that began in 2000.

The reforms saw about 4,000 white commercial farmers chased off their land to be replaced by new black farmers who did not have any clue about farming.

Critics blame the violent land reforms for triggering Zimbabwe’s economic collapse and the decimation of the once thriving cattle ranching sector.

NewZimbabwe.com understands that CSC has a debt of about US$22 million and only has less than 600 cattle at its nine farms across the country.

But the company was stopped from exporting beef to the EU after the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at the beginning of the last decade.

The EU also had frosty relations with Zimbabwe following allegations that Mugabe had cheated his way to victory in elections held since 2000.