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Jeffrey Gogo Climate Story
GOVERNMENT has — for the fourth year in a row — cut spending for water, environment and the climate by 35,1 percent to $34,2 million from $52,7 million a year earlier, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced on November 26. The decreases have been compounded by across-the-board budget cuts, but, the Water, Environment and Climate Ministry was arguably hit hardest of any other in the last four years, the 2016 Budget Estimates of Expenditure show.

Since 2012, Mr Chinamasa has cut spending for this particular ministry by more than 66 percent, affecting work that minimises climate change impacts, reverse biodiversity loss, enhance water availability and others. Although some post-dollarisation years have seen vast increases, funding levels for the environment have declined year-to-year in line with falling Government revenues and changing priorities.

Overall, cuts to the water, environment and climate sectors — including to projects like Tokwe Mukosi, meteorology and poaching — have dropped from $101,5 million in 2012 to $34,2 million for 2016.

In the past four years, water, environment and climate spending as a percentage of all Government spending has declined consistently also, down to 0,8 percent in 2016 from 2,5 percent in 2012.

According to Mr Chinamasa, some $17,7 million of statutory funds and $30,9 million from “other resources” will bring the 2016 total funding for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate to $82 million. But, just 9 months into the 2015 fiscal year, the Ministry had overrun its spending limit by $6 million, highlighting the inadequacy of current and past budgetary allocations, not that they will ever be enough.

As always, much of the environment budget was directed towards the water sector — over 80 percent — with other environmental heads like forestry, meteorology and wildlife management left to scramble for the remaining 20 percent, or just $6,4 million. This also shows Government’s long standing deliberate strategy of prioritising water ahead of major related sub-sectors like forestry, the environment and lately climate change.

Emerging trends that have seen an unprecedented escalation in devastating climate events means direct funds for climate change will require immediate mainstreaming. Transfers to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) dropped 29 percent to $28 million from $39,3 million a year ago.

By September, Zinwa had over shoot it’s 2015 spending by $12 million. Zinwa is next year expected to spend $4 million in the construction of Causeway dam and $8 million for Marovanyati dam. Some $1,6 million and $2,1 million will be spent on water supply projects in Binga and Vic Falls, respectively

Mr Chinamasa increased cloud seeding spending by 25 percent to $500,000. By September, however, Government had released just $70,000 of the 2015 cloud seeding allocation, says the 2016 Budget expenditure estimates.

Reports in October suggested Treasury released $200 000 for the project, forced into action by the threat of a destructive repeat drought during the current summer cropping season.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority will receive $1,5 million for upgrading facilities at Chamabondo in the Victoiria Falls, a wildlife sanctuary.

Climate Response
Does Mr Chinamasa’s 2016 Budget adequately respond to the climate change threat? Clearly, it does not; not with the conspicuous limited fiscal space that has seen environment spending slashed year in year out. And, once again, the budget makes no mention of specific climate change related budgeting.

Now, whereas climate change is a cross-cutting issue that can be addressed by tackling deficiencies in other sectors say on irrigation or water, the absence of elaborate spending proposals on specific climate-related issues remains a cause for concern.

With the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) now firmly in place, the Finance Minister is by now expected to have started to articulate Government’s position towards mobilising its share of the $10 billion adaptation and mitigation funding needs, as recommended by the NCCRS.

However, Mr Chinamasa has announced crucial mitigatory interventions in agriculture, the sector most at risk from climate impacts.

In addition to dam construction, next year he plans on spending $7 million refurbishing 11 200 hectares of Zimbabwe’s 220 000 hectares of installed irrigation capacity, which is severely under-utilised.

This year, Government has repaired 685 hectares of irrigation at a cost of $2,6 million. “Challenges relating to unpredictable rainfall patterns due to climate change demand that we invest in irrigation development, also maximising on use of existing irrigation facilities,” said Mr Chinamasa.

Dam construction is an important aspect to boosting water provision and efficiency, as this creates opportunity for irrigation. With irrigation, communities can build strong defences against climate change-induced water shortages, already noticed to be affecting crop output, and by extension, household food security.

A $5 million Climate Resilient National Water Resources and Irrigation Master Plan announced in 2014 has failed to take off.

God is faithful.

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