The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
The Government has set up ward-based integrity committees to prevent corruption in the distribution of inputs under the climate-proofed Presidential Inputs Scheme.
Households contracted under the scheme started receiving inputs yesterday.
The committees comprise local councillors, an appointee of the local chief, an Agriculture and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) officer, youth and women’s representatives, as well as a local headmaster.
In an interview, ARDAS chief director Professor Obert Jiri said the committees will monitor the distribution of inputs.
“The ward-based distribution committees are crucial in the sense that the members are residents of the respective areas,” said Prof Jiri.
“This means the situation where people used to falsify their identification details and received more inputs will not happen this season because the committees will oversee the distribution to people in their particular area.
“We are guaranteeing a transparent distribution process.”
About three million households are set to receive inputs from Government this season.
Prof Jiri said the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) was actively involved in the distribution of the inputs, with basal fertilisers and seed already at distribution points.
To curb pilferage, he said, Government has remodelled the distribution chains to promote traceability and accountability.
Nearly two million farmers have undergone conservation agriculture training and have prepared their plots ahead of commencement of planting.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe applauded the new strategy aimed at curbing corruption.
“This is a good move by Government. In the past, corrupt individuals used to feast at the expense of the intended beneficiaries and this caused failure of many Government programmes.
