mmegi

ISPAAD tractor owners in stalemate with gov’t

Farmer ploughing with a tractor.PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Farmer ploughing with a tractor.PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO

A stalemate has developed between government and tractor owners over the rates for ISPAAD mechanised services, with the deadlock threatening the success of the cropping season.

Since the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD)'s inception in 2008, tractor owners say government has been paying them P1,160 per hectare for their ploughing services.

However, the Botswana Tractor Association says that the rates paid by government have remained stagnant for more than a decade and the costs of providing mechanised tillage services have increased through pressures such as inflation, fuel, and spare parts.

Editor's Comment
Get back what was stolen, and lock the door

That a single private law firm pocketed P6.5 million for just four cases, out of a total P11.1 million paid for 25 matters, reeks of a system that was not merely disorganised but open to abuse.Bayford has taken a welcome first step by telling the Public Accounts Committee the truth. Now he must act decisively to ensure it never happens again and that any money lost to wrongdoing is recovered.The figures are staggering. Whilst ordinary Batswana...

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