The Sunday News
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
LOW rainfall and poor crop husbandry are enough to put farmers in Matabeleland South province down but rampant stock theft in the province adds assault to injury as farmers continue to count their losses and have their dreams of being successful livestock farmers shattered.
Due to the area’s arid weather conditions, the land is best suited for livestock production. However, farmers have to contend with diseases and a string of cattle thefts.
Over the years, Mr Nduduzo Siziba has seen his herd of cattle dwindle due to stock theft which has left him dejected and out of ideas to preserve his herd.
“The thriving business of stock thefts has left us on our knees. Most of the thieves are known to every Jack and Jill in the community but they never get arrested.
It’s a complex syndicate of thieves, we suspect some police officers and even court officials are involved. A lot of us have given up because we have realised the truth around stock theft,” said Mr Siziba.
This realisation, he said, had shattered their dreams of ever becoming thriving livestock farmers in the province. He said farmers in Botswana and the Ward 24 stock theft team in Gwanda South recently recovered a slaughtered beast in the bush and eight other live ones.
“The problem is not just in Gwanda but it cuts across to Botswana too,” Mr Siziba added. Every week, 30 Botswana farmers cross into the Zimbabwean side through Mlambaphele Border Post to look for their stolen cattle.
While the problem has been perennial, livestock rustling is no longer ordinary, but now reportedly involves violent seizure of animals by armed people as it has developed into a well-organised crime involving vandalism and theft of veterinary fence especially on the Botswana side of the border where most of the domestic animals are stolen.
Zimbabwe and Botswana have agreed to electronically tag cattle for communities living along the border and the programme is set to be pioneered at Mlambaphele border area in Gwanda District.
Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs Minister Abednico Ncube said stock theft continues to threaten the livelihoods of locals who depend on livestock for survival.
“It is our fervent hope that this mission will assist in coming up with strategies to address cattle rustling and other security threatening situations such as smuggling of goods, illicit trafficking of minerals, poaching and drug trafficking,” he said.
Minister Ncube said large parts of the border fences are stolen, destroyed by elephants making monitoring long boundaries and mountainous terrain difficult for police.
This creates many opportunities and trafficking routes for criminal networks to smuggle livestock. The notorious cattle rustlers reportedly pounce on communities and change the brand marks of stolen cattle to evade justice.
In some instances, they slaughter the beasts in the bush and carry the meat, some of which is allegedly supplied to butcheries while some of it is sold to the public from people’s houses.
Boustead Beef consultant, Mr Reginald Shoko said stock theft was a national problem which police have to tame as it affects the livestock value chain and economic revival.
“At the moment cattle rustling is a threat to livestock developers across the country and we need cops to be on top of the situation.
As it stands, we have stock theft incidents almost every two days in our various farms across all the regions. Also, you have to remember that we are not just keeping ordinary cattle, but high breed with good quality beef, which in itself is an investment.
“With us there are a lot of things that would be lost when these cattle are stolen. It also affects raw materials of other industries. After stealing these cattle, there is no value addition on the animal yet with us, we don’t discard anything.
The skin of the animal is processed by the leather sector and other downstream industries. So, people have to understand that they are not just stealing cattle, but are affecting the country’s economic performance.”
The nine-year mandatory jail sentence for stock theft does not seem to be deterrent enough, as daring culprits keep breaking the law.
Police in Gwanda recently arrested a businessman and butchery operator from the Konongwe farming area for alleged stock theft after the recovery of live and slaughtered cattle. The cattle were recovered at Irimai Muringa’s farm.
Villagers allegedly pounced on Muringa and his employees following a tip-off from neighbours and recovered meat from five of their eight stolen beasts.
Chief Mathe from Gwanda said the problem of stock theft cuts across the province and there was a need for stepped up police operations.
“Stock theft is rampant, although there are places which have been identified as hotspots. There is a need for police to work with communities to rid the area of stock thieves,” he said.
Police continually urge farmers to pen their cattle to ensure their safety and not allow them to stray into highways as they cause accidents.
Farmers are also urged to brand their cattle and to join village anti-stock theft and business against stock theft committees as these structures are important in assisting police to come up with strategies to safeguard livestock. — @Yolisswa
