Govt Moves To Blacklist Farmers Who Failed To Payback Command Agriculture Loans
Minister of Finance, Professor Mthuli Ncube told Parliament that the government was moving to blacklist all farmers who failed to pay back Command Agriculture loans. The defaulting farmers constitute about 30% of total beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the government has recovered over $50 million from Command Agriculture beneficiaries, the minister has said.
Once blacklisted, the defaulting farmers will not be eligible for further assistance from the government. Speaking in the National Assembly last week during a question and answer session, Ncube said:
It is true that certainly there is a delinquency rate of the order of 30 percent. We are blacklisting those who are defaulting for a start so that they are not getting loans and support going forward. Secondly, we are continuing to recover our money β we want our money back. That is the process that we have been following but they are also being blacklisted as well. There will not be beneficiaries going forward. We are only blacklisting those within that 30 percent from whom we have not managed to recover anything at all.
More: The Herald