HARARE – Hard-up former President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace, are auctioning over 20 vehicles, tractors and a wide range of farm equipment.
The former first family have appointed Ruby Auctions of Harare to conduct the sale at Gushungo Dairy Farm in Mazowe on Saturday.
The property sale could be aimed at raising finance to settle debts which threaten to cripple their Alpha Omega Dairy company, itself suggesting the couple may have fallen on hard times.
Going under the hammer are several 4×4 vehicles, at least 12 motorcycles, combine harvesters, planters, harrows, tractors, a bulldozer and trailers, according to an auction notice published in a newspaper on Thursday.
The notice said: “Duly instructed by our Most Valued Client, we shall sell by public auction the following vehicles and farm equipment at Gushungo Dairy Farm on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 10AM.”
Mugabe and his wife are believed to be in Singapore where the 95-year-old former president, ousted in a military coup in November 2017, is reportedly receiving medical treatment.
Last year, the Mugabes were threatened with a lawsuit by their landlord in a rented office for Alpha Omega in Harare over a debt of nearly $30,000.
This week, Alpha Omega Dairy’s southern region sales executive Cassim Asani said the company, which sells a range of products including fresh milk and yoghurts, was struggling to stay afloat due to declining sales and a poorly performing economy.
“Business for the first quarter of this year was not as it was last year. On our side, we are pushing as a company because we want to be viable, we are producing the products but the rate of uptake in supermarkets is very low because the majority of the people do not have enough buying power,” Asani said.
Asani said schools which used to be their top customers for dairy products like yoghurt and ice creams had altered their diets because of the economic hardships.
He added: “When we want to import ingredients and spare parts, forex is not readily available. This is our biggest challenge and as a result, we are limited in our operations because of that. Sometimes, we end up having to raise prices to keep us viable like everybody else.”
