Government controlled company Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company (ZFC) has bemoaned the fact that the Zimbabwean government did not consider them for the Presidential Input Scheme. This is despite the fact that the government owns a 50% stake within ZFC.

Instead, the lucrative contract was awarded to a Fertiliser Seed Grain (FSG) a company that many did not even know existed until recently. There has been a lot of speculation as to how FSG manages to get contracts from the government even though they don’t have a proven track record when it comes to delivering at such level. FSG has however said that they have delivered on all contracts that they have entered into.

Back in August when the company first garnered the nation’s public attention after the Parliamentary portfolio committee on Finance said the company had been paid $400 million there was a flurry of activity as people tried to understand who owned the company and why it was getting public contracts of such size. The committee and even Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission were involved. It’s not clear what became of said investigation.

We never saw the tender

ZFC feel aggrieved that they were never considered for the Presidential Input scheme contract. According to ZFC they never even participated in the tender process as they didn’t see it.

We did not see the tender, we knocked on government doors trying to understand what was going to happen to the Presidential Input Scheme but they said they were not the ones who are responsible.
We have knocked on all doors and so as we stand here I cannot tell you who the contracting part is because I don’t know but government owns ZFC 50 % we can give you all the documents that show you that Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) own 50% and when we opened this new plant, the Minister he acknowledged that indeed government owns 50%.
ZFC according to Opern Parly

The opaqueness continues

As already said it’s not clear what happened to the initial investigation into FSG. Its also not clear how they got a contract without going through a tender process if ZFC said there didn’t see or participate in one. This is just one in many opaque deals the government indulges in.

Expect zero public accounting and the ZACC investigation is likely to die. If one were to speculate, FSG is a company owned by a well connected high up and it will continue to get deals until that person falls out of favour as eventually happens.

Fertilizer too expensive, companies need government contracts to survive

Right now not many farmers can afford to buy their own fertilizer and therefore fertilizer companies need the government’s contracts if they are to make any meaningful sales this season.