GMB engages Treasury to clear outstanding payments to farmers, transporters

THE Grain Marketing Board (GMB) is negotiating with the Treasury to release funds to enable it to clear outstanding payments to farmers who delivered maize and wheat to its various depots during the 2023 marketing season.

GMB finance director Mr Clemence Guta told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development
that apart from farmers, the board also owes transporters a substantial amount of money.

“We have an outstanding balance of ZW$54 billion. Of that, ZW$21 billion relates to maize deliveries. And we have got US$25 million, which is outstanding as well. Of that, about $US$8.7 million relates to maize
deliveries and traditional grains with the balance of US$17 million being for wheat deliveries.

“We are alive to the fact that farmers have been severely affected but we are continuously pursuing Treasury so that they release the funds so that our farmers are able to go back to the fields, otherwise we will have a bad season,” he said.

Mr Guta said the GMB was also behind in payments to transporters who moved the commodities and agricultural inputs.

“We are behind as well with respect to payments to transporters. We asked the Treasury to release funds so that we can buy fuel to be able to transport all the inputs through the Agricultural Marketing
Authority,” he said.

Ministry of lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development permanent secretary, Prof Obert Jiri, said they are aware of challenges that the GMB is facing.

“These are challenges we are dealing with. The money to pay farmers and transporters comes from the Treasury. We resolved that transporters can access the Zimdollar fuel from Petrotrade to enable them to distribute inputs,” he said.-chronicle