By Lenah Matenderupi Nhewa
Nkulumane residents thronged Masiyephambili Drive near Nkulumane Complex on Thursday after a haulage truck belonging to Torque Transport accidentally tipped wheat onto the road.
Wheat breached the black sheeting on the inner sides of the trailer before a crowd flocked to sweep the grain into containers.
The incident happens at a time when, due to the acute mealie-meal shortage, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ZANU PF government has set up a taskforce to distribute roller meal.
The truck’s destination was not established and neither could Nehanda Radio get a comment from Torque Transport as the company’s phone rang continuously without reply.
“Hunger stalks the land. That is why the mob is celebrating that they will now make bread. Some are saying they will grind the wheat and cook in place of mealie-meal.
“The horde “harvested” the wheat using brooms and pieces of cardboard,” said Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) National Chairperson, Thabitha Khumalo.
While residents were collecting the wheat, Torque Transport employees secured the black sheeting inside the trailer and tied the tarpaulin.
Khumalo, who is also a Member of Parliament for Bulawayo Metropolitan, opined that “in the olden days, when a haulage truck accidentally spilled its load motorists would follow the vehicle and tell the driver that he (driver) was losing his load.
These days, people come out in their numbers to profit from the driver’s loss. Hunger stalks the land,” Khumalo told Nehanda Radio.
