Poor roads hamper inputs distribution

Chinhoyi Bureau
THE poor state of major rural roads is stalling the distribution of farming inputs under both Command Agriculture and the Presidential Inputs Support Scheme in Mashonaland West, as many transporters are shunning some routes. A Grain Marketing Board official at Lion’s Den Mr Josiah Zhoya told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development that the state of most roads was delaying the distribution of inputs.

“Some of the roads in rural areas, especially in Makonde District are being shunned by transporters who distribute the inputs,” said Mr Zhoya.
“There are distribution points and people in the areas, but transporters are not willing to go there because of the poor state of the roads.” Mr Zhoya said the most affected areas included Kenzamba, Kanyaga, Nyamupamire, Kamhonde, Mukohwe Valley and Chihwiti. Rural local authorities told the parliamentary committee that Government should restore collection of land levies to enable road maintenance.

The local authorities said they were no longer able to service roads, hence the refusal by transporters to take those routes. Makonde Rural District Council chief executive Mrs Lahliwe Murefu told the committee that the withdrawal of levy collection from local authorities had significantly affected their operations.

“There are a lot of things that we used to do as rural local authorities, but we cannot do that now because a significant part of what used to be our revenue is now being collected from farmers by the Ministry of Lands (and Rural Resettlement). As we speak, even the five percent that we are now supposed to get has not been remitted by Treasury and we are near the end of the year,” she said.

Mrs Murefu said more than half of Makonde district was made up of commercial farmers, who paid levies expecting to get services from council. Council, she said, did not have capacity to provide the expected services owing to inadequate funds. Although they are supposed to get five percent of the money that is now being collected by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement, disbursements have not yet been made this year.

The money is supposed to come from Treasury. Government has managed to rehabilitate the bulk of roads in the province through departments such as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, the District Development Fund and councils. The ongoing programme has covered most of the major roads to ensure they are passable. In a separate interview, Mhondoro-Ngezi Rural District Council Ward 14 councillor Lovemore Tshuma said the late disbursement of the land levies from Treasury was affecting many projects in the area.

“Council is unable to offer some services in time because of late disbursement of funds collected through land levies. We have a huge number of farms created during the fast track land reform programme,” he said.