- Mohadi has so far lost 271 cattle
- 10 cattle dying each day
VICE President Kembo Mohadi has lost close to ZWL$2 million worth of livestock due to effects of a drought ravaging Matabeleland South Province which has left many counting their losses.
Authorities say at least 16,000 severely drought-stressed herds have died with the full extent of losses still being ascertained.
Mohadi has so far lost 271 cattle at his farm, his lawyer confirmed.
With a beast retailing for at least US$250, the extent of his loss in monetary value is about US$67,750 or ZWL$1,490,500 going by the parallel market rate of 22/1.
Norman Mugiya told the state media that Mohadi was losing an average of about 10 beasts a day and counting.
It was not clear how many hundredths of cattle Mohadi has or if he was considering de-stocking in light of water deficiencies.
“Most cattle are forced to walk long distances in search of water and clearly an already starving cow or beast going through such a challenging situation is not likely to survive. We are saying Government should support farmers by providing them with tractors and slashers so that they can be able to cut grass growing on roadsides and feed their cattle,” Mugiya said.
With water bodies fast drying up, cattle farmers in the province have sent an SOS to government to put aside red tape and urgently deal with the desperate situation of so many cattle farmers.
Matabeleland South provincial veterinary officer Enat Mdlongwa was also reported to have said that more cattle continue to die.
“Cattle are dying and it’s a terrible situation and when we are looking at our statistics the number of deaths is now at around 16 000 and these are recorded cases and I am convinced it’s more than that,” he said.
At the same time some unscrupulous cattle buyers are already said to be capitalising on the situation by offering to buy beasts for a song from desperate farmers.
