About K180, 000 worth of equipment has been vandalised at the Eastern Tropical Fruit Processing Plant in Katete District of Eastern Province.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS, Katete District Commissioner, Raphael Phiri, disclosed that the equipment has been vandalised due to lack of activity at the plant.

Mr Phiri further attributed the vandalism to the lack of security at the facility.

“The biggest concern for this office is that this is a project that was put up at a great cost by the government. And now because it is not operational the worst worry is that the security that was being provided by G4 security has been withdrawn because there is no activity at all.

“This is what has led to some amount of vandalism to the extent that equipment almost worth K181, 000 vandalised because there is completely no security, it is under the care of just general workers,” he said.

Mr Phiri also indicated that the non-operationalisation of the facility, which was completed in 2022, has led to some level of frustration among farmers who have been anticipating supplying raw materials to the plant.

“At the coming of this project, a lot of farmers in Katete and beyond were sensitised about the coming of the factory and were advised to grow a lot of fruits to serve as raw materials for the factory.

“But since 2022, the factory has not been operational and this has caused a lot of frustration among our farmers,” he said.

Mr Phiri further appealed to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to address the matter.