Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya and her counterpart from the Ministry of Finance Felix Mutati have come under fire from cadres from the ruling party for allegedly failing farmers in the country.
A conversation monitored from one of the PF WhatsApp groups has members mostly from the Copperbelt accused Siliya and Mutati of incompetence.
Members expressed frustrations that the two Ministers were failing to plan ahead and avoid the tragedy that has befallen the sector.
“Am running out of ideas because of their incompetence and lack of planning, we can’t afford to have a minister who seems to have no direction. I can’t afford to see Dora Siliya as Minister of Agriculture. She has failed and that should not come from the opposition but we can all see,” one member of the group wrote.
The E-Vaucher system has come with unforseen challenges that has led to late distribution of farming inputs.
Small scale farmers across the country have lamented that the distribution of farming inputs has been marred with inconsistencies which has seen of them missing from the list of those to recieve the inputs.
The has also been a challenge in the availability of the inputs in the shops allocated with E-Voucher usage which has led the farmers to describe the system as a complete failure.
Meanwhile the Zambian National Farmers Union ZNFU has noted that the country we need to import the staple food due the late delivery of inputs to farmers.
The farmers body warned that Zambia may start importing maize in the next 18-20 months if the agriculture sector is not revived.
ZNFU President also accused the Ministry of Agriculture of working against the farmers and advised government to apologise for the lost opportunity this farming season owing to delayed distribution of inputs under the E-voucher system.
But Siliya on Sunday claimed that she is spending sleepless nights due the challenges being faced in her Ministry.
Siliya who has been condemned for taking a laissez fe attitude towards her job claimed that she was suffering with the farmers.
“Where I am here as minister, the way the farmers are suffering, that is how I am also suffering because I don’t even sleep worrying that when the farmers see the rains have started, they are panicking because they want to plant. I know how the farmers are suffering but even us we are not sleeping. Even me, every day, my job is to monitor how each and every district is doing, asking how many farmers went to the bank on a given day, that is my job every day. ‘If there is a problem what shall we do? If the computer is dead, can we work manually?’ Those are the things I deal with because I want the farmers to plant because they are the ones who feed this country and this is their business also,” she said.
Mutati has also not been spared as he has been accused of not releasing money in time to ensure that inputs are secured in time.
Welcome to best sex dating site https://wantsdate.com
That is PF way.
This is the docility of Zambians in steady of directing the gun on chagwa they start beating about the bush , what do you want Siliya and Mutati to give you when there is no money in the Treasury ? we always tell you about lungu’s incompetence but because of tribe , some people just follow blindly . Ignorance is the worst sin one could commit , now when you accuse Dorah slit what is your benefit ? we told you they have stolen money through fire tenders , ambulances , Roads , ZESCO , Zamtel, Tall-gets , higher taxes and many more , people start saying it is hate rate . We are now living on borrowed money , Chagwa and his minions are living like kings . Zambians wake up . you are cowards worse than a hainah . ATA SEEEE . we expect to hear a lot from Mulusa .