adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
THE government has launched a food and asset for work programme in the Midlands province aimed at arousing public participation in the rehabilitation of infrastructure. Under the programme, people in need of food due to the drought will benefit on condition that they carry out voluntary work at schools, dams, irrigation projects, clinics and on roads.
Officially launching the programme in Gokwe North yesterday, Midlands Provincial Administrator Cecelia Chitiyo said if everyone plays his or her part, the country will emerge from the drought situation with better infrastructure.
She said the public works programme launched yesterday was aimed at engaging able bodied persons in communities to carry out labour intensive development projects in their areas.
“The development projects have of necessity been prioritised as road repairs and maintenance to facilitate movement and distribution of drought relief grain; dam and irrigation projects to alleviate future effects of drought situations and other socio-economic infrastructural requirements like schools and dip tanks. We want to address the Zim-Asset cluster priority areas,” she said.
Chitiyo said as a result of the ongoing economic challenges, the government could not mobilise resources for additional projects other than those in the 2016 national budget and the grain importation and distribution programme.
“It’s therefore imperative that we work with what is available in formal individual ministry or government capital budgets and maximise on the labour availed by this programme. We note and appreciate the enthusiasm that the programme has generated as evidenced by reports that local leadership in some provinces and districts have already informally mobilised their people to carry out some work first before they receive the relief food,” she said.
She said the department of social welfare will be responsible for identifying and registering families in need of drought relief as well as drawing the lists of able bodied members from the registers.
Chitiyo said the District Development Fund through its decentralised structures shall provide all requisite expertise in the implementation of public works projects.
“It shall augment its capacity by calling upon the participation of selected and appropriate technical units from the army as well as Building Brigades from the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment,” she said.
The PA said participants will work 12 days a month for four hours a day.
derick.khumalo