HARARE - Legislators yesterday demanded an explanation from government on the farm mechanisation programme and Operation Maguta/Inala.
The Public Accounts parliamentary portfolio committee chaired by Mufakose MDC MP Paurina Mpariwa grilled Ringson Chitsiko, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development on the exact beneficiaries of the two programmes.
She argued that the beneficiaries were not known and that some have failed to pay back cash advanced to them by the State.
Chitsiko said the mechanisation programme was run by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), whilst on Maguta-Inala programme, it was a Cabinet decision. He said there was a board that managed Operation Maguta-Inala and acted independently.
Operation Maguta/Inala was administered by the army and was set up in 2007 as a government vehicle for mobilising and distributing inputs such as seed, fuel and fertiliser to A1 and communal farmers countrywide under a managed national cropping plan where some two million hectares were to be put under maize production for delivery to national silo, the Grain Marketing Board.
“The committee wants to know what was happening in these programmes,” Mpariwa asked.
Chitsiko retorted: “It is very difficult to answer because I don’t have many details as these were being carried by RBZ, which was financing these programmes. We were not briefed on the amount of money that was spent or who benefited.”
However, Mpariwa asked Chitsiko to go back to his office and carry out thorough research on the matter so that he can fully inform the committee next week when it recalls him.
“We are going to ask you come back next week fully-prepared to answer our questions,” she said.
“It does not make sense to us that you do not know what was happening in your ministry as these programmes were under your ministry. We need names of the people who benefited, or whether they paid back the loans.
“We have MPs in this committee who are former Cabinet ministers and they remember these issues were put under your ministry of which you are denying. They are keen to know whether you are not lying to the committee.”
She was referring to Samuel Sipepa-Nkomo and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, former Cabinet ministers in the inclusive government, who were also querying Chitsiko’s answer together with one of his directors Kudakwashe Zata.