Malawi President Joyce Banda’s decision to revive crop inspection tours has attracted the anger of some Malawians who believe she is wasting taxpayers’ money at a time the country is struggling economically.
In a Nation on Sunday survey on the issue, out of 1 068 people who took part in the poll, 696 said the President has no justification for embarking on the exercise.
This means 65 percent of the respondents in the survey expressed reservations over the tours.
Data for the survey was pooled from face-to-face interviews conducted in 18 districts and our short message service (SMS) line.
Human rights activist Billy Mayaya warned that the symbolism of crop inspection tours is often tainted with political overtones.
Mayaya said the politicisation of food is a clear abrogation of the progressive realisation of the right to food being spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“Crop inspection tours are the onus of the Ministry of Agriculture and food security NGOs. The President needs to support such processes by creating an enabling environment in which the sector can thrive without the overt symbolisms of crop inspection tours.
“This can be achieved by the government making strong policy statements to support the sector and not through the empty symbolisms of crop inspection tours that only drain State resources during this time of austerity,” he said.
But government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu defended the exercise, saying Malawi, being an agro-based economy, needs encouragement from the highest level of government.
“We see nothing wrong with the inspection. She is operating within the budget,” said Kunkuyu.
The minister’s statement contradicts Nation on Sunday revelations that not only has State House exhausted its K1.8 billion (about $4.6m) allocation in the 2012/2013 budget, but had also overspent the vote by K800 million (about $2.05m) by November 2012.
This was only five months into the financial year.
On the last day Parliament rose two weeks ago, the House approved K3.6 billion (about $7.6m) for State residences, more than double the initial K1.8 billion allocation.
