GOVERNMENT is yet to settle outstanding subsidy payments to grain millers, a situation threatening the viability of the struggling sector in the face of inflationary pressures facing the wobbling economy.
This is contained in a letter dated May 27 by the Small-to-Medium Millers Association of Zimbabwe (SMMAZ) to the Industry and Commerce ministry seeking a review of regulations on the importation of maize and
wheat.
In a recent Statutory Instrument (SI) 119 of 2020, the government suspended customs duty on maize and flour for six months with effect from May 22 to November 21, 2020.
The SI allows “any and all entities” to import the commodities, but the SMMAZ bemoaned the long-term negative impact on the milling sector which is owed thousands of dollars by the government.
“We would also want to draw your attention to the fact that most SME millers, whose interest we represent, have had outstanding subsidy payments due to them by the government being eroded by inflation, with some payments currently still outstanding since February this year. SME millers have lost up to 60% of their working capital,” SMMAZ chairperson Davis Muhambi said in the letter to the Industry and Commerce ministry.
