Norton sabotages $3m abattoir deal

NORTON Town could lose the $3 million chicken processing abattoir deal with a potential of creating 1 200 jobs amid reports that the investor has since approached Mhondoro-Ngezi Rural District Council seeking land for the project.

T he Z i m p l a t s M h o n doro-Ngezi-Chegutu-Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust has been frustrated by Norton Town Council by delaying allocation of 100 hectares for the project.

The abattoir is expected to process about 90 000 chickens daily for the local and international market.

The project is also an offshoot of the $10 million injected by Platinum giant Zimplats under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment programme.

The Mhondoro-Ngezi RDC’s lands committee report for the first quarter of 2018, notes that the CSOT had approached the local authority seeking land, with feasibility studies at the proposed site reported to be underway.

“CSOT wrote a letter requesting for 100ha of land between Silverstar Village 1 and 2 and Manyoni resettlement schemes.

“It was highlighted that 10 percent of the proceeds would benefit Mhondoro-Ngezi District while 90 percent would be shared equally among the CSOT beneficiaries.

“However, as a committee we agreed that a feasibility study be done involving local leadership and the council,” the report reads.

In an interview recently, the CSOT chief executive Mr Swedi Phiri said delays in securing land for the project were stalling its immediate implementation.

He said all the resources for the project were now available, but they were only waiting for Norton Town Council to process their application.

Mr Phiri said due to the nature of the project, they were looking for land with on-site infrastructure such as water, sewerage and electricity connection.

Projections are that construction of the abattoir should be complete in four months.

The Mhondoro-Ngezi-Chegutu-Zvimba CSOT is one of the most successful community trusts in Zimbabwe with part of the initial $10 million yielding more than $1 million after investment.

Disbursements from the trust have supported several initiatives and complemented efforts by local authorities in carrying out projects identified by the community.

Some communities have had schools rehabilitated and upgraded, roads and bridges repaired among other projects.