East CSPR Condemns Politicians Opposed to e-Voucher System
By Staff Reporter
The Civil Society for Poverty Reduction in the Eastern Province says it is shocked by some politicians’ attacks on the government’s e-voucher system because the agricultural-based programme provides a lot of advantages to the farmers.
CSPR provincial coordinator Maxson Nkhoma, however, stated in a press release that although the e-voucher had come with a number of challenges that needed to be addressed it had assisted in getting rid of ghost farmers.
“The programme must be protected and defended by all organisations that called on government to implement the system,” said Nkhoma.
He also called on organisations like the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) and the Chipata District Farmers’ Association to defend the implementation of the e-voucher system.
“Those condemning the system are ill-informed because CSPR is among the organisations that have supported the system, but we admit that the e-voucher has come with a number of challenges that need to be addressed,” Nkhoma stated.
Nkhoma said one of the biggest challenges of the e-voucher system was the late disbursement of funds by government.
“The e-voucher should be commended because it has assisted to get rid of ghost farmers, while on the other hand farmers receive inputs from their door-steps through agro-dealers,” he said.
