By Staff Reporter
PARLIAMENT’S agriculture committee chair, Justice Mayor Wadyajena Wednesday declined to inspect the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) chairperson Tafadzwa Musarara’s Alpha Grain milling company following what he insisted was a mix-up of company identity.
His committee was on a tour of milling firms that benefited from a government grant to procure cereal on behalf of the nation.
Musarara’s Alpha Grain trades as Drotsky (Pvt) Ltd.
But on arrival at the milling firm, Wadyajena insisted he had come to inspect a company which has been identified as Alpha Grain instead.
On February 17, 2020, Wadyajena’s committee, through the Clerk of Parliament, Kennedy Chokuda wrote to Musarara in his capacity as the chief executive of Drotsky (Pvt) Ltd, advising him that they were, on 26 February 2020 visiting his Workington milling plant on a fact-finding mission.
However, Musarara insists he only has one milling company, Alpha Grain T/A Drotsky (Pvt) Ltd.
“The above-mentioned committee is currently inquiring into the support services by the government of Zimbabwe to the grain and wheat millers.
“To this end, the committee received oral evidence from the Grain Millers Association during which you were mentioned as one of the beneficiaries of such support,” reads part of the letter.
“The committee, therefore, resolved to conduct a fact-finding visit to your company on Wednesday 26 February 2020, at 14:00hrs. Please kindly facilitate all the necessary arrangements for the visit,” read the invitation addressed to Musarara in his capacity as the Drotsky CEO.
Alpha Grain is Musarara’s only milling company which trades as Drostky and is a paid-up member of GMAZ.
“We came to see Alpha Grain and was advised that its not Alpha Grain but, Drotsky and as you may be aware, Drotsky has a separate inquiry, so we are going to come on another day to do another inquiry.
“Today it was not about Drotsky, it was about Alpha Grain. So we are going to seek clarification on the ownership of Alpha Grain to see which one is a trading company, so we can not proceed without that,” Wadyajena told reporters outside Musarara’s number 106 Coventry road’s milling plant.
When Wadyajena and his team arrived, a company representative, one Sharon Zumbika advised him Alpha Grain was trading as Drotsky.
“There are not two separate companies or subsidiaries, but one company Alpha Grain trading as Drotsky,” Zumbika said.
Wadyajena ignored that and briefly held a caucus meeting with his committee before aborting the tour.
The Gokwe legislator last Tuesday invited the GMAZ boss and quizzed him on how the association used funds it received from the government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to acquire wheat from outside the country.
