Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa quashes ban report that government had imposed a ban on quail bird farming by locals for commercial purposes
Mnangagwa was responding to backbenchers who sought clarity during a question and answer session in parliament on 7 September 2016 responding to the previous week's ban on quail bird rearing by environment minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri.
Muchinguri-Kashiri said during the ban announcement that the government was doing that in keeping with its mandate to protect citizens from con artists who sell quail birds and their eggs claiming they had some medicinal value.
Kuwadzana MP Nelson Chamisa also quizzed Mnangagwa if it was now government policy to announce far reaching decisions on people's livelihoods through the media.
"There is no policy that is publicised only through the media; government policy is in written form," Mnangagwa said. He said the decree was only intended for wild quail bird egg gatherers who then resell the eggs to desperate citizens claiming they contained medicinal value. "What he (Chamisa) has not understood is that there are two types of quail birds. There are those that are allowed in this country and those who domesticate them and sell the birds are doing it illegally.
"Members of parliament can also engage in such projects but what is not allowed and was not understood by the honourable member is that there were others who are moving around the wild life taking away the wild birds' eggs, we are not happy about that."
Mnangagwa continued, "There is a way of rearing quail birds commercially, carrying out your quail birds' project and selling to hotels, but we do not allow people to poach quail birds in the National Parks.
"That is the issue, so we are simply making everyone aware so that our nation develops. There is no policy that has been put in place in Zimbabwe that quail birds' projects are not allowed. The birds are very delicious, we enjoy the quail birds."
The said ban on the rearing of the bird for profit has infuriated Zimbabweans who have found their government as too unconcerned with the plight of citizens trying to eke out an honest living.
