By Sifelani Murambiwa.
Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – Hundreds of sugarcane farmers in Chiredzi on Thursday defied a police directive to cancel a peaceful demonstration against the sale of foreign sugar by TM Supermarket saying the case required more time to verify government policy dealing with the importation and exportation
of raw sugar.
The development comes after members of the Zimbabwe Sugarcane Development Association (ZSDA) last Friday allegedly filed a notification letter to the police stating that on Thursday (yesterday)they will march across the town`s denouncing the continued sale of imported sugar which is killing their industry.
Heavily armed members of the police force responded to massive response made by farmers who wanted to exercise their democratic right to demonstrate.
Placard wielding farmers however resorted to singing and dancing at Chiredzi Town Council Civic Centre before tearing nearly a tonne of the imported sugar which supermarkets are selling.
ZSDA information and Publicity Secretary Bernadette Tamba however saidfarmers feel undermined by the decision made by the police to cancel a well communicated demonstration which was going to be peaceful.
“This has been a major blow to us as sugarcane farmers that the police have decided to cancel our peaceful demonstration which was meant to sent a very big signal to the whole country that as farmers we are against the continued coming in of foreign sugar into the country while we are producing what is enough for everyone.
“We are producing 480 000tonnes of sugar annually and the local market consumes 65percent while the remainder is exported to the European Union and other needy countries. It’s sad that our boarder posts are still porous that sugar from other nations is still finding its way into our market forcing the mill door price of sugar to fall from $714 per ton in 2009 to $517 this year,” said Tamba.
Farmers however demanded answers from Minister of Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha to give a detailed explanation as to why the country continue to face the same challenge of imported sugar despite government having set a ban on the importation of the commodity.
Tongaat Hullets Zimbabwe Managing Director Sydney Mtsambiwa two months ago raised a complaint with the visiting Parliament Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture that their company’s growth expectations are now being frustrated by dumped sugar from other nations which is flooding the market.
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