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Elita Chikwati Senior Reporter
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement’s Department of Irrigation has called for adequate funding if it is going to meet targets.

The department said it was facing financial challenges, which crippled operations.

This came out on Friday last week when the ministry’s senior officials appeared before the Public Accounts Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chaired by Mr Tendai Biti.

Responding to questions from legislators on the ministry’s accounts audited in the Auditor-General’s 2017 and 2018 reports, the department’s director, Dr Conrad Zawe, said the ministry was experiencing challenges meeting the target of completing irrigation projects.

Dr Zawe noted long tendering processes and said the situation could improve if the department had its own procurement department.

“In terms of tendering, we have a problem; our ministry is very big and the tenders are taking too long to be concluded,” he said.

“I have already decided to ask the secretary to consider us, the department, as a procurement entity so that we can have our own procurement department, then we can reduce the time to exactly 90 days instead of the 180 days.

“If agreed, we will be able to work faster. If Government is really serious about the issue of irrigation development, there is need to set aside foreign currency. If that is not there then we are playing games; there will be no irrigation development in this country.”

Dr Zawe said the department had completed some irrigation projects such as Nyakomba Irrigation Scheme on time due to availability of funding.

“We are working on another facility with Pedstock which is going to give us 2 900 hectares,” he said.

“We are going to (succeed) if the foreign currency is available.”