TCB asked to pay cotton debt by defaulting Moro firm

Counsillors in Ulanga District, Morogoro Region, have called on the Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) to immediately pay them 20m/- debt they owed their council following failure of a cotton buying company, Morocot Ltd to settle the bill for about a year now.

The counsillors said during an ordinary session that Morocot Ltd had purchased the cotton from the people on the understanding that it would pay them later. They said the people had been enquiring on the defaulted payment since last year.

The Ilonga counsillors, Haji Mpanda, said sessions involving TCB, Morocot and the counsillors had indicated that the company would not pay the said money; adding that TCB had to pay the 18m/- debt as it did guarantee the buying firm.

``Officials from the board`s offices in Dar es Salaam, promised to top up the amount with an additional 2m/- to make the whole amount 20m/-,`` he said.

Mbuga Ward counsillors Mohamed Kumwembe said payment of the money was long overdue as people had been implicating them in colluding with unknown elements to delay solution to the problem.

He said that a few days before the visit of Ulanga East MP Celina Kombani in the cotton-growing area of Mwaya, Morocot paid a paltry 5m/- to the peasants in order to pre-empt them during a meeting with the parliamentarian.

A counsillors from the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) for Itete Ward, Fortunatus Malunda called on TCB to solve the hitches which contributed to deterioration of cotton farming in the region such as dishonesty on the part of companies which purchased the crop.

``Lack of a reliable market for cotton is probably the major problem,`` Malunda said.

The Acting Ward Secretary for Mwaya, Haji Masoud, said despite reports that another Morogoro based company, Scott Enterprises Ltd, wanted to purchase cotton, the solution lay in the hands of TCB which had to purchase the said crop from the people.

The session directed the council�s leaders and TCB to find out when the money would be paid and what legal measures would be taken against Morocot Ltd.