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From George Maponga in Masvingo
Government has ordered chiefs and political party leaders not to interfere in the distribution of farming inputs being given to rural communities under the Presidential Well Wishers’ Inputs Scheme. Deputy Minister of Agriculture responsible for Irrigation Development, Mechanisation and Cropping Cde Davis Marapira yesterday said chiefs and political party leaders should only monitor the distribution of the inputs and refrain from taking a leading role.
Cde Marapira said the move comes in the wake of increasing complaints over the rampant abuse of the scheme by some traditional and political party leaders.
He warned traditional and political party leaders against continued abuse of the inputs targeted to assist 1,6 million rural communities to achieve food security this year.
“The Presidential Well Wishers’ Inputs Scheme is a Government programme. Following increasing complaints over rampant abuse of inputs under the scheme in the past, we have made it clear this year that chiefs and other traditional leaders together, as well as political party leaders should refrain from taking a leading role in the distribution of these inputs.
“We no longer want chiefs, and village heads to be at the forefront of distributing these inputs because of a high number of cases where these inputs have been abused and failed to reach the intended beneficiaries. We want all the people who should benefit to do so.
“Chiefs and political party leaders will only play a monitoring role in the exercise just to ensure that the process is going on well without hitches in their areas of jurisdiction,’’ he said.
Cde Marapira said at provincial level, provincial administrators should be in charge of the distribution of the inputs while district administrators would lead the process at district levels countrywide.
He added that at ward level the inputs’ distribution would be led by councillors with the assistance of the local Agricultural Extension worker as Government demanded transparency in the exercise.
“This Zanu-PF Government wants all the people to benefit from these inputs and we want transparency and accountability in the distribution process.
“We do no want people who abuse the inputs scheme because our goal as Government is to help poor rural communities to produce enough food so that Zimbabwe totally stops food importation,’’ said Cde Marapira.
In the past, inputs availed by Government under the Presidential Well Wishers’ Inputs Support Scheme have been abused in some areas with traditional leaders mainly being fingered in the abuse of the inputs.
Some of these ended up being sold on the black market.
During the 2012/13 farming season, the scheme benefited 712 400 households countrywide after President Mugabe sourced US$27 million to purchase the inputs.
The scheme is in its sixth year running after President Mugabe started assisting farmers with crop and livestock inputs following the collapse of financial schemes for smallholder and communal farmers owing to illegal economic sanctions imposed by the West.
Under the scheme this year, the input package for each household comprises 10 kilogrammes of maize seed, 50kg Compound D, 50kg Ammonium Nitrate and 50kg Lime fertilisers and those in areas that traditionally receive low rainfall would get 5kg each of sorghum or millet seed.
Online Reporter