Investors in the company recently approached Farmer’s Weekly, claiming that they have not received a cent back from the company in nearly three years. This was despite agreements that promised annual returns.
Made available to PBO in four tranches from the end of December 2013 to May 2014, the grant was authorised by the KZN DARD’s then MEC, Dr Meshack Radebe, with the approval of the provincial treasury.
PBO is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Vusi and Nomzamo Khoza, and according to documents in Farmer’s Weekly’s possession, invited investors to buy Moringa oleifera trees at R25 each. In turn, they were promised returns of R500 per tree per year, provided that PBO was supplied with the trees’ leaves and seed pods for processing into various products.
In 2013, Nomzamo was named the department of agriculture’s Female Entrepreneur of the Year as well as National and KZN Top Entrepreneur for the Export Market, netting her total prize money of R870 000.
(For more information on this story, read the 30 January 2015 issue of Farmer’s Weekly.)
