Govt to withdraw tractors from selfish chiefs – Phiri

GOVERNMENT says it will withdraw tractors from traditional leaders that have personalized the vehicles meant for women cooperatives. Minister of Gender Elizabeth Phiri warns that her ministry will not hesitate to withdraw tractors that were given to women cooperatives if some chiefs continue to personalize the equipment. “  The tractors were strictly meant for women […]

Govt to withdraw tractors from selfish chiefs – Phiri
GOVERNMENT says it will withdraw tractors from traditional leaders that have personalized the vehicles meant for women cooperatives. Minister of Gender Elizabeth Phiri warns that her ministry will not hesitate to withdraw tractors that were given to women cooperatives if some chiefs continue to personalize the equipment. “  The tractors were strictly meant for women headed cooperatives in chiefdoms as a way of empowering them but that reports of chiefs personalizing the equipment will make it difficult to achieve the objective of the program adding that their role is basically to monitor its usage, “ she said. The minister said this when she paid a courtesy call on Kasenengwa District Commissioner Sara Kalaluka recently. She urged the chiefs that have personalized the tractors to stop or risk having the equipment retrieved and given to other chiefdoms that did not benefit from the program. Ms Phiri disclosed that she was in Eastern Province to give some guidelines to traditional leaders on how the equipment should be used by the women cooperatives. “Chiefs are the custodians of land hence their involvement in the program as they are supposed to give not less than 100 hectares of land to the women cooperatives. “Government will continue to work with traditional leaders as they are key partners in development,” she added. The Minister further said some women cooperatives that will fully utilize the tractors for farming activities will receive extra equipment for value addition so that jobs are created in rural areas. And Mrs Kalaluka said she is concerned most women clubs in the district that received some empowerment from the Ministry misused the funds.  She has since appealed to the Ministry of Gender to start orienting women clubs on how they can venture into income generating activities before empowering them so that the funds are not misused. ZANIS. The Sun