Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
Government has been called upon to release funds for irrigation rehabilitation and construction to ensure the projects are ready before the onset of the rains. Department of Irrigation Mashonaland West provincial head Engineer Vimbai Pachawo said late disbursements of funds limit progress. She was speaking at a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture and Irrigation Development 2018 budget consultative meeting on Tuesday. Eng Pachawo said ideally, funds releases should be made around March instead of end of September.
“The releases are normally done at the end of the third quota like in September. That is when we have our payments made. We should have our releases in the first quota like in March so that we do our constructions during the winter season,” she said.
Eng Pachawo said money disbursed in September would coincide with the onset of the rains, which means little or no work was done. Turning to irrigation equipment, she told the committee that there was need for a complete package, including transformers, pumps, pipes and pivots.
“When implementing programmes where equipment is imported, we need a complete package. We should not have a scenario where we get pumps without pipes or pivots without transformers. It should be a complete package such that when we go to a farmer we leave them better off,” said Eng Pachawo.