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By Lovemore Chazingwa
Kadoma Agricultural Show Society has dangled another set of contradictions, this time on the dates for this year’s imminent annual agricultural show.
A poster circulated by ousted secretary Talent Garikai on Tuesday indicated that this year’s annual show will be staged from August 11-13.
Contacted for clarity, Garikai replied with a copy of history pertaining to developments in the beleaguered society from the time the battling committee fell out with chairman Madera. That communication, awash on social media platforms, was evasive on the purpose of inquiry by this publication.
In response to the Garikai announcement, chairman Patson Madera responded with a cancelled version of the same saying the official Kadoma Agricultural Show dates as set for September 29 to October 1.
“The authentic show dates are as indicated on our traditional show period, that is, September 29 to October 1. This year nothing has changed. The earlier poster with August dates does not hold,” he said before hanging.
Incumbent executive committee secretary Tinashe Dzinoreva weighed in with some semblance of clarity through a communique.
“This serves to inform you that the executive committee of Kadoma Agricultural Show Society held meetings with the conveners of the annual agricultural show to receive input on the preparedness of all participants. From the meetings, it is established that the level of readiness is not satisfactory for the annual show to be held in August 2022.
“After due diligence and having been favoured with informed positions from all conveners, the executive committee of Kadoma Agricultural Show Society decided that the annual show, originally scheduled to be held from the 11th to the 13th of August 2022 will be postponed. The show will be held from the 29th of September 2022 to the 1st of October 2022. This was after careful consideration, more so, putting the interests of the public and relevant stakeholders ahead of any other” reads part of the communique authored by Dzinoreva.
District development coordinator (DDC) Amigo Mhlanga is livid over the events unfolding at the show society which sacrifices community progress.
“One party cannot hold the whole district and stakeholders to ransom. It’s for the farmers and all these other stakeholders that the show is held. We cannot allow a situation that deprives our community of development. This is an institution under the purview of the Agricultural Ministry. It’s not for personal interests to interfere in its running. If that chaos persists we can have a way forward,” DDC Mhlanga fumed in an interview at his office.
Kadoma Show Society is dogged by power wrangles dating back a couple of years ago. After a new executive was sworn in in 2019, new dawn seemed to have ventilated the community institution but, the power war reared its ugly head when there was a fallout between chairman Madera and the ousted management committee.
The executive committee suspended Madera over a raft of yet-to-be-proved allegations. The matter is still to be finalized by the courts.
A new executive management committee was ushered in at the behest of a general meeting on January 3 this year. That new committee elected Madera to the position of chairman.
Technically, Madera remains chairperson of both committees, if his suspension matter has not been put to rest. However, the society constitution does not provide for a clause subtending the suspension of an incumbent chairperson.
Ironically, the same committee which fought tooth and nail to remove the Tobias Chodeva executive committee is one that is clinging onto positions, trampling upon official processes.
Among the ousted executive committee members purportedly running a parallel structure is Luckson Munyai who was in May this year convicted by a Kadoma magistrate of malicious damage to property charges.
The other two members of the parallel committee, Talent Garikai, and Chrispen Dirao also face the same charges aggravated by a theft of property charge to be answered at Kadoma magistrates court.
The trio, including one who is already convicted, is alleged to have damaged showgrounds’ property.