Mzembi set to grab chicken breeder’s farm

MASVINGO – Tourism minister Walter Mzembi is threatening to grab a lucrative chicken breeding farm in Masvingo.

The land grab which will go against promoting the Brand Zimbabwe that Mzembi so tirelessly advertises also comes at a time when President Robert Mugabe has issued statements threatening the few remaining whites in the country.

According to a report in the NewsDay, Mzembi obtained an offer letter from the lands ministry dated February 20 2015 to take over the remaining 367 hectares of Banquest Extension Farm, a farm being run by a prominent Masvingo chicken breeder Helen Mitchell. The other part of the farm was resettled to indigenous black farmers.

The Mitchells run Masvingo Chicks Company which is the only chicken breeder that supplies the whole of Masvingo province, dishing out 100 000 day-old chicks and 50 000 eggs per week. They have been in the poultry business and horticulture for more than four decades.

NewsDay also said the Mitchells couple has always been donating to Zanu PF functions as well as several orphanages and schools in the province.

However, Mzembi already owns a farm just outside Masvingo, which he has failed to manage and like many other Zanu PF senior officials, he abandoned the farm and has set his eyes on developed farms in the province.

Nehanda Radio failed to get a comment from Mzembi, who was said to be in cabinet.

As reported in the NewsDay Mitchell confirmed the development but refused to shed more details.

“Yes, I can confirm that he (Mzembi) sent people to our farm with the offer letter, but I cannot say much as this may jeopardise our negotiations as we are still appealing,” she said.

“It is difficult to say anything at the moment, but we will follow the right channels and see how this goes. We were assured of exemption as we had already given half of the farm for resettlement. But we were told of the impending takeover long back.”