By STANSLOUS NGOSA –

GOVERNMENT and the Sinazongwe farming community have resolved the misunderstandings which led to the stalling of works  on two dams in Sinazongwe.
This is after Agriculture Deputy Minister Maxas Ng’onga met Senior Chief Sinazongwe, area Member of Parliament Richwell Siamunene, some community leaders and farmers in the area on Thursday.
It was discovered during the meeting that the misunderstanding was created by some opposition political players who told the farmers that the two projects were for South Africans and would benefit foreigners.
But Mr Ng’onga assured the farmers that the two projects were meant to benefit the local people as evidenced by the local people who were managers.
The completion of Nzenga and Sinazongwe dams had stalled due to a misunderstandings between the community and the Ministry of Agriculture who are the implementers of the projects.
The construction of the Nzenga and Sinazongwe dams started in 2010 at a cost of US$1.8 million and $2 million respectively and was expected to be completed last year.
The Nzenga irrigation scheme covers 210 hectares while Sinazongwe is 100 hectares.
Both projects, which were funded by the African Development Bank and the Finish government, were expected to benefit more than 98 households. The projects were directly supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture.
A spot check by the Times revealed that Sinazongwe Dam was completed while final touches remained with the Nzenga project.
Chief Sinzongwe said opposition political parties took advantage of his one year absence from the throne when he fell sick, to mislead his subjects.
Chief Sinazongwe said the leadership vacuum created the crisis but he, however, vowed that he would not allow his subjects to suffer because of selfish individuals.
He said it was sad that even some named Government officials who were recently fired were in the forefront in misleading people.
Chief Sinazogwe said there is need to support and work with the Government in order to fight hunger especially in his area, which is drought prone.
Mr Siamunene said the project was highly politicised and the implementers on the ground failed to convince the local people that the project was for their benefit.
Chairperson for the Irrigation Scheme George Chikaaza, who echoed similar sentiments, added that the farmers needed  K2.4 million as start-up capital for irrigation activities.
“We did not plant anything last year because we were waiting for the project to start and most of the land was taken by the project. Moreover, the poor rainfall distribution also affected us,” Mr Chikaaza said.
But Mr Ng’onga said the ministry would immediately summon technocrats and re-look the project profile to determine how much would be required to kick start the project.
“As you have seen, the project could not start and we cannot just release money the farmers are asking for before we re-look at the project profile, but we have to do so before June month end,” Mr Ng’onga said
He said Government would engage the private sector to guarantee farmers a market through participation in the value chain, where the community would be producers.