Committee queries Greenbelt Authority relevance

Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture chairperson Joseph Chidanti Malunga has questioned the continued funding for the Greenbelt Authority which he described as a political tool.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Malunga who is also member of Parliament (MP) for Nsanje West (Independent), said the authority, which started off as an initiative by the Bingu wa Mutharika administration, stands as a political tool for abusing government resources.

“From the beginning, we have been against the creation of this authority. We want it to be disbanded. It is unable to utilise the funds, has no capacity and operates as a political entity by reporting to the Office of the President and Cabinet,” he said.

Malunga added that the authority is duplicating functions of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development; hence, the need to relocate resources to under funded projects in the agriculture sector.

According to Treasury spokesperson Davis Sado, the Greenbelt Authority now receives its funding under Subvented Organisations (Vote 275).

Responding to an e-mailed questionnaire on Monday, Sado said the authority has a budget allocation of K400 million for operations and salaries and a development budget of K1.5 billion under the subvention in the 2018/2019 proposed National Budget.

The subvented organisations are established to produce and deliver goods and services on behalf of government in areas where the latter cannot perform efficiently and effectively.

The authority was established by government in 2015 as part of its public service reforms agenda and falls under the Office of the President and Cabinet as a separate and independent entity replacing Bingu wa Mutharika’s Greenbelt Initiative.

In the 2017/18 financial year, the authority received an allocation of the sum of K283.5 million.

However, the allocation was revised upwards to about K412 million, attracting the wrath of opposition members who asked the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe to justify the continued funding allocations to the Greenbelt Authority.

The Bill for establishing the authority was approved by Parliament early this year.