DDF requires $200 million to revitalise operations

GOVERNMENT requires about $200 million to revitalise the District Development Fund (DDF) so that it can operate at full capacity to ensure rural development and uplift the living standards of the rural people.

DDF is involved in construction and rehabilitation of roads, schools, clinics, bridges and weirs as well as borehole drilling and rehabilitation of irrigation schemes.

In an interview yesterday, the Minister of State in Vice President Kembo Mohadi’s Office, Davis Marapira, said DDF requires between $120 and $200 million to fully deliver its mandate.

The DDF falls under the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) in VP Mohadi’s office and is supervised by Minister Marapira.

“DDF is important in developing our rural communities. There’s a need to finance DDF with between $120 and $200 million to buy work units in all the country’s eight rural provinces,” said Minister Marapira.

He said so far DDF has been hiring equipment to rehabilitate roads from private players and getting support from Zinara due to an acute shortage of resources.

“We want to bring the DDF back to its state in 1980, where rural infrastructure was well maintained and communal farmers were given tillage support.

“Part of the function of DDF is rural tillage support, where it prepares land and plants for the communal farmers. This is a very critical function in regards to ensuring food security in the country.

A majority of people in the country live in the rural areas and they need assistance on their farms,” said Minister Marapira.

He said DDF was currently being funded by the two percent tax that was introduced by Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube as part of a raft of economic measures aimed at reviving the country’s economy.

“At the moment, we’re receiving funding from the two cents per dollar tax and we’re working on the Mara Road in Masvingo, a new 10km road in Marange and another 10km road and a bridge in Monte Casino.

“DDF is also working on the Karoi-Binga road, a 300km patch to be tarred. A lot of boreholes have been sunk in Kanyemba, Mashonaland Central, Matabeleland North and South provinces, Masvingo, Mashonaland West and Midlands,” said Minister Marapira.

He said DDF repaired overnight storages (artificial dams) which are being used to irrigate 300 hectares of land in Cashel Valley.

“This has created employment for the people in that area and improved the export of raw materials since people there are growing sugar beans. DDF is also involved in the construction of a number schools and clinics,” said Mr Marapira.

Most roads in rural areas are gravel, and during the rainy season, they are washed away and rendered inaccessible, forcing rural folk to walk several kilometres to get transport.

Some of the roads have become inaccessible, forcing buses to shun the roads and farmers find it difficult to transport their crops to relevant depots because of the state of roads.

Last year, a Road Conditions and Inventory Report revealed that close to 100 000km of the country’s road network was in bad state with an estimated $5,5 billion required for maintenance and rehabilitation. —@pamelashumba1