CONSULTANT FOR SELECTION OF MPAKENI PROJECT BENEFICIARIES

MBABANE – Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) has identified a consultant to develop criteria for the selection of project beneficiaries for MNWAP Phase 1.

Mandhla Mehlo has been identified as the best-evaluated bidder for the tender and the proposed contract price is set at E543 030. During the competitive bidding process done in terms of Section 45 of the Public Procurement Act No. 7 of 2011, Mehlo scored 89.50 per cent to surpass other consultant firms that were overpriced. Mehlo is a Senior M&E/Public Health, Social Inclusion, Agriculture, Agribusiness, Water and Sanitation, Gender Evaluation Specialist and Analyst, with over 15 years of work experience.

Donors

He has extensive consultancy experience in African countries (Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, South Africa, South Sudan, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan) for bilateral and international donors and organisations (EU, USAID, UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM and other UN agencies, Swiss Cooperation, World Bank, EU), government entities and international NGOs. The Eswatini Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Programme (MNWAP) Phase 1 involves the construction of the first dam- Mpakeni Dam and associated infrastructure in addition to the downstream development in 10 000ha.

i) MNWAP I has three components:
    Infrastructure Development;
ii) Project Management, Engineering Supervision and Environmental and Social Management Plan
iii) Agricultural development.

According to the tender document, the consultant is expected to develop a criterion for the demarcation of the MNWAP Phase 1 Project Development area.  The criteria should take into consideration the extent of the development with respect to services such as irrigation and potable water to be provided by the project. It should also take into account the meaningfulness of the development. It should make business sense while taking into consideration the social requirements of society. Potable water can only be extended based on the amount of water that can be provided from the project without jeopardising it and the costs associated with the provision of potable water. The consultant is expected to draw experience elsewhere in Africa on the criteria for the demarcation of project areas on similar projects.

Requirements

The consultant is expected to define a criterion for the selection of beneficiaries in the farming enterprise under MNWAP Phase 1. The criteria must ensure that the business is at the centre of the criteria, while balancing the social requirements of the beneficiaries. It is the norm to allocate between 2ha and 3ha of irrigated land in an irrigation project.  The criteria should take into consideration the differences in land ownership under the project. Areas under Sigwe/Maloma and Mconcwane are communal land used by the communities for subsistence farming. Private land at St Philips will be purchased by the project for the benefit of the communities.

The association and linkages between communities and their traditional leadership are an important factors for social cohesion. This also applies to households and their extended families.
At times businesses tend to destabilise these linkages with disastrous consequences. The criteria should take into consideration the linkages between the beneficiaries and their traditional structures (tikhulu). The consultant is expected to draw experiences from other similar projects in the country and elsewhere.

The third task for the consultant involves developing a policy for the use of communal under traditional authorities. It is worth noting that communal land in and around MNWAP will inevitably attract investors and businesses. There is also land that is allocated to the project, such as areas around the Mpakeni Dam, which are prime land for business development. Access to the use of the land for businesses is negotiated between the traditional authorities and the investors (business owner).

However, the benefits are often once-off payments in nature of kukhonta for the business. The consultant must propose a mechanism that will extend the business benefits to the communities and not just the traditional authorities, because such a process ends up constraining the relationship between the communities and its traditional authorities.

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