Swiss-based food giant Nestle has shut down its Zimbabwean operation after succumbing to pressure from supporters of President Robert Mugabe who accused the firm of being a front for Western nations seeking to destabilize the nation’s economy.
The state-owned Herald newspaper reports that Nestle Zimbabwe has temporarily ceased operations in the country, quoting a Nestle spokesperson.
The move comes in the wake of threats by a black economic empowerment organization and other groups linked to Mugabe which have pressured the firm to resume buying milk from a farm owned by the wife of the Zimbabwean leader or risk closure.
It was revealed in September that the Swiss food giant bought between 10 and 15 percent of the milk processed at its Harare plant from the farm.
Nestle stopped buying from the dairy farm in October but not before an international protest by human rights groups which triggered calls for a worldwide boycott of its products.
The Zimbabwean First Lady reportedly gained control of the dairy as a beneficiary of her husband’s controversial and internationally criticized land-reform program.
The decision to stop milk purchases from Mugabe’s Gushungo Dairy Estate did not go down well with local indigenous pressure groups led by the pro-Mugabe Affirmative Action Group (AAG) which said the move was tantamount to the company imposing sanctions on the country.
Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and the AAG last week led a group of protesters that allegedly threatened Nestle with closure unless it resumed milk purchases.
The Nestle closure flies in the face of attempts by Zimbabwe’s 15-month coalition government to lure foreign investment.
Source African Press Agency
