. Dora

By CHILA NAMAIKO –
THE newly created Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection has outlined strategic areas aimed at enhancing provision of water supply and sanitation countrywide.
Through its K487 million budgetary allocation for 2017, Minister-in-charge, Lloyd Kaziya, said the strategic focus would, among other key areas, put up a primary water infrastructure to harvest rainwater, and bulk water transfer to facilitate availability of the commodity for all uses in the country.
Mr Kaziya, who is also Patriotic Front (PF) Matero Member of Parliament, said an amount of K114.4 million has since been allocated and would include interventions such as rehabilitation and maintenance of small dams countrywide.
The Minister, who was speaking in Parliament on Tuesday when he delivered a policy statement for the Ministry’s budgetary allocation for next year, said K3.1 million would go towards increased access to surface water for domestic, industrial, agricultural and other purposes to reduce water scarcity.
Other key activities include construction of more dams and undertaking feasibility studies for surface water infrastructure.
The Government also set aside K400, 000 for construction of groundwater exploratory boreholes and provision of water infrastructure for strategic interventions.
The Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) has been allocated K15 million to carry out its functions in line with the Water Resources Management Act No. 21 of 2011.
On the other hand, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency was allocated K24.6 million to implement its functions and enforce provisions of environmental protection.
Scores of MPs urged Government to help improve drinking water, especially in the rural constituencies where many people have challenges to access water.
Meanwhile, Parliament has unanimously approved the K5.43 billion budget allocation for ministry of Agriculture with focus on enhancing the crop diversification agenda through use of Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
This represents an increase of 128 per cent from the 2016 budget allocation of K2.38 billion.
An amount of K976.1 million from the K5.43 billion would be supported by cooperating partners for key programmes, such as crop diversification, irrigation development, mechanisation, agri-business support and value addition.
Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya said that, next year all districts would implement FISP using the electronic-voucher platform, and that K2.856 billion was allocated to the programme.
Ms Siliya said, when she delivered to the House a policy statement for the Ministry’s budgetary allocation, that Government would enhance the use of the electronic-voucher system during the 2017-2018 farming season.
She said, under irrigation development, Government has made a provision of K434 million for irrigation development countrywide to mitigate erratic rain fall conditions and support crop diversification.
Government has also created a fund called the Emergent Farmers Support Funds with an allocation f K2 million aimed at supporting emergent farmers to enhance their production through mechanisms, inputs and  other services.
On payment to farmers that sold maize to the Food Reserve Agency, Ms Siliya said funds to pay all debts owed to smallholder farmers have been released except for K6.93 million owed to famers in Northern Province which would be paid out before end of this year.