Community Bakery Closed 24 Hours After Launch
A community bakery in Portlet, Makonde district in Mashonaland West province, is reported to have closed barely 24 hours after its launch by Tourism Minister, Priscah Muofumira and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Sithembiso Nyoni.
The bakery, reported to be a brainchild of some ZANU PF officials, is said to have been baking bread using donated flour.
According to the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper, the so-called bakery launched recently and located on an open maize field, uses firewood and was designed to produce 500 loaves a day.
One anonymous villager who spoke to the publication said that the project was rushed. The villager said:
There was so much secrecy about the project. Most of the villagers were surprised that the ministers were coming. No wonder why it operated for 24 hours and the moment the ministers went away everything came to a halt.
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Meanwhile, one of the project committee members, Vaida Matanhire, played down the issue saying that the community should contribute to the running of the project. Matanhire said:
The project is for the community and we should contribute for the project to be a success.
The Zimbabwean government has promised to establish similar bakeries in an attempt to curb crippling bread shortages.
The shortage of bread is attributed to the wheat deficit in the country. The country is reportedly failing to produce 400 000 metric tonnes of wheat since 2000 when Zimbabwe embarked on the fast-track land reform.
More: News Day
