What President Emmerson Mnangagwa claimed:

At a campaign rally held on June 15, 2018, at Mucheke Stadium ahead of the 2018 general elections, President Emmerson Mnangagwa told thousands of supporters that the Cold Storage Company (CSC), which was the largest employer in Masvingo with 6 000 workers at its peak, would resume operations on July 31, a day after polling.

Mnangagwa said: “There is the Cold Storage Company that used to employ many people here in Masvingo. On Tuesday, we are signing an agreement with an investor that we met when I went to Davos (Switzerland).

“We met an investor whom we presented opportunities available in the country and they took our issue into consideration. So next week on Tuesday, they will be giving us the money to revive the CSC so that it gets back to full operations. We had a tour of the company where senior managers there told us that they have already started preparing for the resumption of operations.

“Employees have already been recruited and on July 31, a day after voting in national elections, we should see the opening of CSC Masvingo.”

Information Ministry Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana weighed in with a tweet on the same day, noting; “Cold Storage in Masvingo will be start (sic) operating on 31 July 2018. Shabani and Mashava will employ 6 000 people.”

An empty promise

It’s now almost three years after the President made the pronouncement and ZimTracker has fact-checked the President’s claim to see if he has delivered on his campaign promise.

The CSC Masvingo branch, which used to be the largest abattoir in the country, remains derelict.

A visit to the plant reveals the sorry state of a fallen meat processing giant. The branch, which used to slaughter more than 2 000 beasts a day, is an archetypal white elephant.

A reminder of CSC’s great past

Most of the buildings are now used as storage space by tenants who are paying rentals to carry out business unrelated to that of CSC.

Horns of cattle slaughtered years back, piled and gathering dust, are the only reminder of CSC’s great past. Tall grass has taken up space where cattle used to be graded, before being slaughtered and part of the railway line is being submerged by bushes.

Most of the equipment is rusty and the quietness at the plant resembles a graveyard, with only one security guard manning the premises. What rudely breaks up the serenity of the place is the occasional ear-shattering sound of a maputi gun, operated by cheerful, unkempt youths. This is hardly a scene that would be expected at a thriving meat processor.

ZimTracker’s Verdict

The President lied about CSC. He misled the voters!