Zimpapers Logo

Deputy Minister Zhanda

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter
THE Government will soon introduce electronic tagging of cattle in a bid to facilitate hassle-free movement of the animals among farmers.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development responsible for livestock, Cde Paddy Zhanda, on Tuesday said the move would also go a long way towards stamping out corruption in the marketing and movement of cattle.

“We’re running some trials for electronic tagging of cattle. We’ve done a demonstration in Goromonzi and we’ll next week be in Matabeleland for another demonstration. It’s a fantastic initiative that has been welcomed by all farmers. We’re targeting to start using the system in December this year.

“There won’t be need for farmers to collect police officers to clear their cattle for sale. They simply go to the police station and their cattle will be in the data base where the cattle will be having a full description. The whole transaction will be done through that data base,” said Cde Zhanda.

The Deputy Minister said this while addressing farmers at a Competition and Tariff Commission workshop on the study of Zimbabwe’s beef industry in Bulawayo.

According to the study, some police officers are in the habit of soliciting bribes from farmers for them to authorise the movement of cattle to other regions.

Cde Zhanda said there would be no need for witnesses for farmers to transact, making it easier for marketing and transferring of ownership of cattle.

“What we’re working on at the moment is to find donor funding for the programme. It also saves a lot of time and money for the farmers,” he said.

A research analytical officer with the Competition and Tariff Commission Mr Isaac Tausha said their study revealed that police officers were demanding bribes, food and transport from farmers while on official duty.

“Almost all the farmers in the eight cattle producing provinces which we visited accused the police of demanding bribes before sanctioning any cattle movement.

“In some instances, some farmers were made to pay as much as $10 in order to obtain cattle clearance forms which are supposed to be given free of charge,” said Mr Tausha.

According to government policy, police and veterinary officers are required to sanction the movement of cattle from one area to another. — @pamelashumba1