Minister reads riot act to Arex officers
By Thembelihle Mhlanga
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Anxious Masuka had no kind words for the Arex officers over Bubi-Lupane irrigation’s non performance and demanded that action has to take shape expeditiously.
Speaking at the tour of the Lupane-Bubi irrigation scheme, the Minister said that it is uncalled for, for the scheme to miss this year’s good rain season without any planting taking place, hence the departments involved should see it to it that they move swiftly.
“We cannot come here to commission the centre pivots only. I want to come here and commission the crop’ said Hon Dr Masuka.
Minister Masuka emphasized that there is no time for idling and called for the hardwork to commence immediately to ensure that the country alleviates hunger and poverty.
He instructed Agribank to make it a point that the machinery is promptly sent to Lupane’s ARDA and Grain Marketing Board so that the seeds are availed for irrigation.
The Minister made a decree to the effect that the scheme has ceased to be a community blocked system but has now morphed into a unit operation irrigation scheme. Under the new arrangement, the community would be allocated planting plots on the edges of the scheme in contrast to what was said at the scheme’s inception which led to ninety households losing their fields to pave way for the scheme.
Dr Masuka said he will be back at the scheme and he would want to find all the three by sixty hactre plots planted without fail.
“I want these three plots to be planted within seven days and nothing less. I will be here on January 23 to monitor progress and therefore all the proceedings of today’s meeting are deferred to that date without alterations” said Minister Masuka.
The Bubi-Lupane irrigation scheme is a one hundred and eighty hactre scheme with initial ninety beneficiaries, each beneficiary having been allocated two hactres. The scheme was established in 2019 by the ministry of Agriculture.
