The Sunday News
Ngonidzashe Chiutsi Business Correspondent
LOCAL abattoirs and Rural District Councils (RDCs) are embroiled in a war with the former accusing local authorities of charging high levy for slaughter of cattle. However, councils also counter-accuse the businesspeople of being “greedy” and not willing to contribute to the development of the communities where they operate.
Some RDCs in Zimbabwe charge abattoirs 10 percent of the value of the beast for each slaughter, a figure abattoirs say was high and pushing up production costs.
In an interview, Livestock and Meat Advisory Council administrator Mr Mario Beffa said the levy which was being charged by RDCs was not sustainable.
“The RDCs charge ten and half percent levy for slaughter of a beast which is more than the profit that we get. This is not fair,” said Mr Beffa.
He said the levy must be brought down as it was affecting the operations of the abattoirs.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union Matabeleland North chairperson Mr Winston Babbage echoed the same sentiments, adding that RDC levies were choking businesses.
“The other issue is that the RDCs charge different levies. For example Binga RDC is charging $10 for slaughter of a beast while in Bubi or Nkayi they may charge $20 or $32 and we wonder why the levies differ from one place to another,” queried Mr Babbage.
The abattoirs also complained that the high levies had resulted in the abattoirs passing on the costs to the consumers.
They added that RDCs were unlawfully engaging police officers to force the abattoirs to pay the levies.
Zimbabwe Local Government Association chief executive Mr Rodgers Mozhenty, however, shot back and accused the abattoirs of refusing to play their part in contributing to the development of the communities they are operating in.
“Every year we have meetings with these abattoirs and we tell them point blank that they should pay these levies. However, they are ripping off farmers by using middlemen to buy the cattle at low prices in order to avoid paying levies. They come with their trucks and destroy the roads and yet they don’t want to pay monies that go towards the maintenance of those roads,” he said.
Mr Mozhenty said every year, RDCs came up with budgets to run the councils and the money to do so came from levies.
He said they were going to engage the abattoirs and iron out the issue.
