Great Test for Greenfuel on the Women Empowerment Project.

Greenfuel (Pvt) Ltd is making effort to shrug off criticism from the community by building a vegetable market place at Chisumbanje township. The market project has had many false starts due to procedures linked to the application process at Chipinge Rural District Council. It also lacks consensus from the community stakeholders.

As usual, initiatives involving Greenfuel tend to draw sceptism as its modus operandi is always embroiled in controversy. Within the community, Greenfuel is yet to work hard on improving its reputation when it comes to initiatives of a corporate social responsibility nature. The community has a negative perception in regard to the company since it normally sanctions political polarization by its selection of beneficiaries on political grounds.

The local councilor for ward 26, Mr Misheck Busangavanye admitted that the delay for the building of the market place is a result of an absence of consensus among key stakeholders. The most critical stakeholders like traditional leaders remain divided on the site of the market place. The intended beneficiaries of the market place are women who ironically were direct victims of the company’s expansionary policy. These women are among the people who lost land to Greenfuel and whose crops were constantly ploughed down. These women have shown serious reservations on the vegetable market place. Others who appear to be receptive to the project want it to be located not in the centre of the township, and also want a bigger place.

However, Greenfuel is targeting women who were recipients of the 0.5 hectares of irrigable land who they believe need a market place for their produce. Thus, the project is a great test to the sincerity of the promises made by the company to the community in view to improve their lives. Women hold the key to food security and community development.

PYCD is of the opinion that the empowering women in the community should strengthen food security, reduce poverty and ultimately drive community development. The organization is pointing out to Greenfuel that the concept of a vegetable market place has been plagued with failures and inefficiencies in some parts of the country. The failures and the inefficiencies were due to the location of the place in relation to the buying community. Therefore, the planning and designing should have taken into consideration the issues of accessibility by the intended customers or risk constructing an infrastructure that will end being a white elephant. At the same time, Greenfuel must avoid entrenching political marginalization as this has an effect of deepening food insecurity in the community. 

PYCD is doubtful about the project because Greenfuel is in the habit of creating publicity stunts at the expense of the community. From the experience of the interaction with Greenfuel, PYCD has come to an understanding that the company provides what it thinks the community needs rather than opting for consensual arrangements. Corporate social responsibility is a tool that can transform the plight of women in the district only if it is done through an agreed structural framework.

Greenfuel emerged during the economic crisis of 2008 but have had issues with compliance  social justice, environmental and health standards.