Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
THE Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development has called for a thorough investigation into the disappearance of a truckload of Presidential Input Scheme seeds meant for Ward Seven in Tsholotsho District in Matabeleland North Province.
An official memo indicates that an extension officer from the Agriculture and Rural Development Advisory Services, Ms Kwanele Dube and a Grain Marketing Board (GMB) contract employee, Mr Langton Ncube who were accompanying the truck after taking the stock from the Tsholotsho GMB depot have also not been seen since 4 January this year.
The truck, which had 400 bags of 50kg Urea fertiliser, 30 bags of 10kg sunflower seeds and 100 bottles of 200ml Imidacloprid chemicals was being accompanied by a police officer identified as Abisinjo Mpofu.
Sources allege that the inputs were not signed for in the provisional dispatcher book, which was said to be full.
In an interview on the sidelines of digital tablets handover ceremony held in Bulawayo yesterday, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary, Professor Obert Jiri condemned the abuse of inputs from the Presidential Input Scheme.
“We say no to the abuse of inputs from the Presidential Input Scheme and we will never condone any attempt to derail the Government programmes through abuse of inputs,” he said.
“As a ministry and with a whole of Government approach we want to ensure that inputs are delivered and utilised by the respective beneficiaries.
“So the whole of Government approach has been activated, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are on it to ensure that those culprits are brought to book.”
He said they had a no-nonsense approach to inputs abuse and they were working on improving their distribution systems and surveillance.
Prof Jiri said using the digitalisation agenda, they will curb abuse of inputs by using e-signatures, facial recognition and other methods that will reduce such abuse.
The Permanent Secretary said the Government has a “no, no” to abuse of inputs at any level and by anyone of any rank or social standing.
The Presidential inputs were supposed to be distributed in Ward Seven, Patalika, on 4 January 2025.
Bongani Ndlovu