Mutapa To Clear Cottco’s Legacy Debt Within Six Months, Says Mangudya

Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund, anticipates clearing Cottco Holdings’ legacy debts of approximately US$5 million within the next six months and updating its accounts by early next year.

This was revealed by MIF Chief Executive Officer John Mangudya during a briefing to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development on Tuesday, where he discussed funding for Cottco.

Cottco, which falls under MIF, has been burdened by debts that led to its voluntary suspension from trading on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2014. Said Mangudya:

We want to ensure that Cottco pays its legacy debts, which are the money they owe to workers, which is about US$3,1 million, the transporters, which is about US$1 million and the legacy payment to farmers, which is about US$6 million.

So, we are putting these measures so that Cottco will be able to pay farmers. We are starting with the current crop and we have disbursed US$5 million so far out of the US$10 million (it owes).

We hope to clear the debts within the next six months, if there is any balance, by early next year.

Mangudya also told the Committee that Cottco plans to introduce a credit card system for farmers to prevent misuse of inputs distributed under the Presidential Inputs Scheme.

He explained that farmers will use the card to purchase inputs from registered merchants. The system will be linked to banks, including POSB and AFC, as well as biometric data from the Registrar General’s office.

The card will be strictly for input purchases and will contain the farmer’s biometric information to prevent fraud and multiple claims.

More: The Herald

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