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MPS FRUSTRATED BY LACK OF RDF

26/08/2020 06:05:00 BY STANLEY KHUMALO

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MANZINI – Inyandzaleyo!

This is a vernacular word used to call for help and legislators are calling for immediate assistance in dealing with their impending challenges, given the seismic waves of economic instability amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed discontent in the delay by government in releasing of the Rural Development Fund (RDF). The RDF is a fund for rural development that government avails to all constituencies.

The nature of the fund presents a two-sided approach towards income generation and infrastructure development. In previous community consultations, the infrastructure component was perceived to have contributed significantly to the development of the communities, especially the installation of electricity.

Communities were said to be happy with the participatory approaches and the degree of community consultation for the infrastructure projects. However, according to the parliamentarians, these positive milestones have not been achieved since the assumption of office by the 11th Parliament.

This is despite that on Valentine’s Day – February 14 – this year, in the 2020/21 Budget Speech tabled by the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, the funding for the sector had shot up to E177 million.

Relief

This increment of E67 million as compared to the 2019/2020 financial year, was envisaged by elected MPs to be a source of relief for them in dealing with the masses’ needs for development.

However, to date, according to the legislators, this has remained nothing but figures ‘thrown in the air’. Nkwene Constituency MP Philemon Vulimpompi Nhleko said the funding was nothing but a myth.

This, Nhleko said, was because there was no project that had been funded under RDF since he assumed office. The legislator said what he was certain of were two schemes that had been approved and were to benefit 80 homesteads.

“We have two electricity schemes that were to benefit 80 (65 and 15) homesteads. These schemes will also benefit many people as they will be able to initiate projects like welding and also tuck shops,” Nhleko said.

He said such projects would have benefitted his constituents a lot in the face of the coronavirus that has seen over 18 000 people, at some point ,being on unpaid layoffs in the past five months since the country was declared to be in a state of national emergency.

The legislator said the availability of the funds would have resulted in some of the people within his constituency engaging in self-sustaining projects. His opinion was also shared by Zombodze Emuva Constituency MP Muzi Kunene.

Kunene said he envisaged that about 13 000 people would benefit from the RDF if it were to be released as soon as possible. The benefits, he said, would be in the form of agri-business.

“The constituency seeks mostly water and electricity as mostly those are the applications we made when seeking the funding. However, to date, nothing has been offered,” Kunene said.

Also lamenting the lack of the funds was Hosea Constituency MP Bacede Mabuza.

He said seemingly there was no money to fund development.

This, he said, was based on his personal opinion as a legislator who had served in different Parliaments.

“Last year, we were informed that there was no money while this year, figures have been thrown around with nothing being actually released to initiate the projects,” Mabuza said.

Another legislator, who shared the same challenge of his constituents not having access to the fund, was Nkilongo Constituency MP Timothy Myeni.

Nothing

“There is nothing that we have received,” Myeni said.

He bemoaned that while many people had been migrating to rural areas due to the impact of the coronavirus, projects that were initiated in the past were still incomplete and stalling any prospects of venturing into new cash-generating schemes.

The legislator estimated that about 700 people would benefit from the fund in terms of sourcing electricity, as many homesteads were still without power.

Myeni further supposed that the availability of the fund could kick-start initiatives that would be cash-generating like procuring tractors for cooperatives to farm and assisting in the installation of a clean water network.

In 2015/16, government had allocated E80 million to the fund, which was utilised to deliver rural electrification projects in various communities.

In 2016/17, the allocation was increased to E88 million. The current allocation is the biggest over the years.