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THE Secretary for Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, Mr Ringson Chitsiko who on Tuesday performed dismally before a parliamentary portfolio committee may help us understand some of the causes of the rot in parastatals and State enterprises.
Since the media started exposing corruption and rampant abuse of office in some parastatals, State enterprises and local authorities, the nation has been trying understand how such rot festered in the presence of a system with checks and balances.

The rot in some parastatals cannot be explained beyond the accounting officers in the mould of Mr Chitsiko who told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development that he did not know the goings-on at the Grain Marketing Board, a parastatal that falls under his  ministry.

Mr Chitsiko told legislators that he did not know the salary structure and perks earned by senior managers at GMB, much to the disbelief of not only the legislators, but the nation at large.

It is either Mr Chitsiko genuinely did not know, or he professed ignorance to deflect some tough questions.
Either way, the attitude he displayed is not what a nation shocked by salary-gate expects from those mandated to safeguard its interests in Government.

As permanent secretary of such a strategic ministry like Agriculture, Mr Chitsiko should be up to speed with what happens in all parastatals that fall under his ministry.

The problems that farmers face in using land productively, the payment delays, the strategic grain reserve and food security are areas in which Mr Chitsiko should provide leadership.

He should always be on top of the situation when it comes to matters pertaining to the parastatals that he provides oversight over but as can be deduced from Tuesday’s performance, he appeared at sixes and sevens and to imagine he is the man at the centre of a key sector like agriculture on which we pin our hopes of not only economic revival, but the success of the historic land reform programme leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

The information the parliamentary portfolio committee — chaired by David Butau — wanted from the permanent secretary, is the kind of information that he should always have at his fingertips.

The committee was not asking Mr Chitsiko to solve some complicated mathematical formulae, but simply wanted him to provide information that he should have at any given time, without even referring to documents.

Mr Chitsiko should have had a field day fielding questions from the legislators.
This was an opportunity to shine, to show the nation the stuff he is made of when it comes to doing and knowing his job, unfortunately, he will look back and see it as a lost opportunity.

Even the portfolio committee itself should not take the attitude demonstrated by Mr Chitsiko and any other top civil servant who appears before it lying down.
We cannot tolerate people being lackadaiscal when they should be addressing issues of national interest.

Mr Chitsiko knew well in advance that he would appear before the committee and he should have been well prepared for any questions that would come his way.
Other permanent secretaries have been invited to appear in Parliament and acquitted themselves well, he should take a leaf from them.