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| Kumwembe handing over the keys |
This programme which is supported by IFAD, concentrates on enhancing agricultural productivity and improving rural food security through simple, affordable technologies, to help smallholder farmers bridge the wide gap between actual and possible food-crop yields in Malawi.
Under this project IFAD is pumping in US $51.1 million where half as grant and half as Loan and that Malawi government is also putting in US $4.2 million and beneficiaries are also putting in US $ 1.2 million.
Principal Secretary II for Ministry of Agriculture Bright Kumwembe says the vehicles costs them a Billion Kwacha and has since advised Agricultural Development Division offices receiving the vehicles to take care of them, warning that drivers and any officers found misusing these vehicles shall face consequence.
“These vehicles are 22 in number and have cost us K1 billion. They are going to our six projects site, currently we have received 8 vehicles and the other vehicles will be receives in the coming two weeks” said Kumwembe
“We thought it wise that we give out these vehicles so that they start working in the field than waiting for the whole contingent of vehicles to be here.”
Speaking of importance of taking care of these new vehicles, Kumwembe said “The Ministry under our Agriculture Sector Wide Approach we have come up with the fleet management system which is going to help us monitor the vehicles in terms of service usage and abuse, so we are sure that the system is going to help us protect the investment that we have now as well as investments that we have had before this investment.”
As you might be aware, he added "government spends a lot of money to procure vehicles and manage them but often times we find that because of negligence we lose these vehicles. Now government is trying as much as possible to make sure that people who are negligent will have to meet the cost of their negligence.”
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