Beneficiaries of The RBZ Farm Mechanisation Scheme - a podcast by BSR: The Podcast

In 2007/08 the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ran a scheme which was ostensibly designed to support commercial agriculture. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe launched the Farm Mechanisation Programme. The purpose was to enhance productivity on the farms through mechanisation. The RBZ procured agricultural equipment worth US$200 million through FISCORP, its wholly-owned subsidiary. In financial terms, FISCORP was giving loans to the farmers. In return, the farmers were supposed to repay the loans.

Years later, in 2015, the government passed the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Debt Assumption Act. This legislation meant the State took over the debts of the RBZ. This included the Farm Mechanisation Debt. Some of the more enlightened members of society saw what was happening and protested that this was not fair. Why should the rest of poor Zimbabweans pay the debts incurred by a few elites who benefited under that scheme?

Full BSR Article: https://www.bigsr.co.uk/single-post/2020/07/18/BSR-EXCLUSIVE-Beneficiaries-of-the-RBZ-Farm-Mechanisation-Scheme

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