Sugar milling giant Tongaat Hulett should fund Zanu (PF)’s election campaign in 2018 in return for favours from the state, Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Shuvai Mahofa has said.
The company has rejected Mahofa’s plea arguing that it is apolitical. Addressing Tongaat workers in Triangle last week Mahofa said that government was happy with the way Tongaat was assisting surrounding communities but would want to see more being done through supporting Zanu (PF) ‘s election campaign in 2018.
“We will always lean on you Tongaat Hulett,”said Mahofa. “We have big multi -national companies in Masvingo like Bikita minerals and Renco Mine among others but they have failed to work well with the government. We would now want you to support Zanu (PF)’s aspiring members of parliament in Masvingo in 2018.
“We are the leaders and once you fund our campaign I will make sure that all your programmes continue uninterrupted because we are in the driving seat,” she said.
The company’s managing director, Sydney Mutsambiwa, said: “I have no comment to make on what Minister Mahofa said but let me make it clear that our company is apolitical and cannot be pushed into politics.”
The government has clashed with Tongaat Huletts on several occasions with the state accusing the country’s sole sugar processor of failing to comply with indigenisation laws and failing to take on board blacks to get into the lucrative sugar cane growing business.
The company is also accused of under-declaring its land holdings. The company has denied all the allegations levelled against it, arguing that it supports local communities to the tune of $1 million annually. Zimbabwean