{"id":7084,"date":"2025-05-29T14:42:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T14:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=7084"},"modified":"2025-05-29T14:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T14:42:08","slug":"residents-demand-transparency-as-bcc-revives-sorghum-farming-at-aisleby-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=7084","title":{"rendered":"Residents Demand Transparency as BCC Revives Sorghum Farming at Aisleby Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube
Bulawayo<\/em> \u2013 The Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC) decision to restart commercial sorghum production at its Aisleby Farm after a five-year hiatus has sparked intense scrutiny from residents, who are demanding guarantees the venture serves public interests and not private gain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 105 hectares already planted and harvesting imminent, concerns over transparency and benefit-sharing dominate community discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Revival Meets Resident Skepticism<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Run by the council’s Business and Investment Committee, the initiative aims to diversify City revenue and reduce reliance on ratepayer funds. However, residents like Dennis Dubley, voicing concerns in a Ward 2 WhatsApp forum, questioned the project’s motives and end-use of the crop:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Sorghum [is] to be sold direct to a brewery which supplies beer to beer halls\u2026 This product may be used purely to sustain individual profits, instead of selling it to the public experiencing real food shortages in Matabeleland.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dubley stressed public resources must not indirectly benefit elites while residents face service delivery crises:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We need transparent projects\u2026 This project uses our resources, so we have all the rights to evaluate it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Council Defends Strategy: Value Addition and Jobs<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ward 2 Councillor Adrian Rendani Moyo welcomed the farm’s revival, framing it as a sustainability measure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The idea is value addition and sustainability. It\u2019s not about individual profits. It doesn\u2019t make sense for Ingwebu to buy grain from other provinces when Aisleby can supply it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted local job creation and historical precedent, noting councillors collectively pushed for the farm’s resuscitation. On Ingwebu Breweries \u2013 the sorghum\u2019s intended buyer \u2013 Moyo detailed a modernization drive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We installed a PET packaging plant and rolled out a new carbonated beer brand\u2026 acquired a fleet of trucks for nationwide delivery. The end goal is for Ingwebu to be viable and self-sustaining.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Addressing transparency fears, he assured:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Our Business and Investment Committee keeps an eagle\u2019s eye\u2026 Any victories should be victories for Bulawayo ratepayers.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Residents Unconvinced: History and Bureaucracy Fears<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dubley countered Moyo\u2019s optimism with historical context:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“In the past, Ingwebu supplied council beer halls for maximum profit. BCC faced financial problems when it lost that revenue.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He and other residents like Helmand Shoko also flagged concerns over expanding council bureaucracy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We are now facing formation of new departments\u2026 to minimise management levels? Judging by parastatals, the opposite happens: disaster and costly services.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Shoko linked the issue to systemic frustration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The fleecing of the ratepayer must stop. You cannot develop Zimbabwe\u2019s second-largest city on ratepayer proceeds alone. Their contributions should only complement a viable city financial base.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Accountability Pledge<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Dubley acknowledged Moyo\u2019s responses, he concluded residents would actively monitor the project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We will hold this department to account from now on.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As harvesting begins, the council\u2019s ability to demonstrate tangible public benefit\u2014not just commercial viability\u2014remains the critical test for skeptical residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zim GBC News<\/em>\u00a9\ufe0f2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Innocent Sibonginkosi NcubeBulawayo \u2013 The Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC) decision to restart commercial sorghum production at its Aisleby Farm after a five-year hiatus has sparked intense scrutiny from residents, who… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7085,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084\/revisions\/7085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}