The MDC contends that all tobacco farmers must be paid in US dollars in full for all the sales they are making at the auction floors.

We reiterate the point we always make that the forex retention scheme pronounced in Mangudya’s monetary policy statement is not only unfair but unconstitutional and disrespectful of property rights.

The government cannot continue to be the bank robber which pick pockets unsuspecting citizens who are being productive especially to the benefit of the Zimbabwean economy.

The government must be focused on addressing the disequilibrium on the relationship between Zimbabwean exports and imports.

Tobacco farmers are helping improve the country’s trade position, they ought to be incentivized not punished.

The current arrangement is a deterrent to more farmers venturing into the tobacco business, it is retrogressive.

The fact that there is visible confusion which resulted in the RBZ releasing clarification statements reflects on the policy itself.

A bad policy must be jettisoned not clarified.

Instead of robbing the tobacco farmers, the government must be focused on the following:-

I. Financing agricultural infrastructure, In order to fully empower tobacco farmers a majority of whom are newly resettled and beneficiaries of the land reform.
II. Decentralisation of the tobacco marketing floors
III. Regulating against the middlemen who are in the business of prejudicing farmers of value.
IV. Innovation and use of technology. promote and facilitate the uptake of new technology including the use of sustainable energy sources such as solar energy in the agricultural sector
V. Agricultural markets, reintroducing the Zimbabwe Agricultural Commodity Exchange(ZIMACE) which will help to moderate prices and also serve as a secondary bourse in the country for agricultural commodities.
VI. Agro Processing and Value Addition, promote agro-processing by attracting both local and foreign investments in order to enhance creation of decent employment.
VII. Investment in equipment, ensuring that all farmers have access to mechanized farming equipment for tillage, harvesting, transportation and storage.

MDC: Defining a New Course for Zimbabwe

Mr Valentine Ziswa
MDC Secretary for Land