Alarm As Broke Zanu PF Regime Will Splash Out Free, Unaccounted For US$30 Million To Farmers Before Zanu PF December 2015 Congress,

BROKE government will, before the end of this year, fork out US$30 million to purchase farming inputs which will be given for free to rural farmers, barely a year after the state said it had stopped the facility due to lack of funds.

The source of the funds remains a mystery as government is facing serious financial problems which have seen civil servants failing to get their salaries on time.

The farming inputs will be distributed around the country under the presidential well-wisher free farming inputs scheme and are expected before the planting season.

Davies Marapira, agriculture deputy minister, over the weekend, said farmers will again this year get free farming inputs from government.

“We are looking at distributing the farming inputs which include fertilizers, maize seeds among others before the onset of the farming season this year,” said Marapira in interview with Newzimbabwe.com.

He added, “A total of US$30 million will be used to purchase the inputs as we try our level best to boost agricultural production especially at household level.”

Ironically, it is Marapira who announced last year that farmers will not be given free farming inputs starting this year arguing that serious farmers should buy with their own money.

He said due to financial constraints, the government would not be providing free farming inputs in 2015.

“Farmers should learn to buy their own inputs because farming is a business,” Marapira said then.

“Starting next year (2015) government will stop giving free farming inputs to farmers due to financial constraints,” he said.

The provision of free farming inputs has been criticized by the opposition parties who argue that the Zanu PF government is abusing the scheme for political gain.

The have been reports that members and supporters of opposition parties are routinely being denied access to free farming inputs scheme which is supposed to be a national programme.

Opposition parties say President Robert Mugabe should disclose the source of the funds, arguing that if there was nothing sinister about the scheme, the state would not be hiding that detail.

Zimbabwe is an aggro-based economy hence a slump in agricultural production negatively affects virtually every facet of life countrywide. source-newzimbabwe