In yesterday’s issue we carried a story under the title: “Made ignorance exposes government”, in which Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development minister Joseph Made professed ignorance of what is taking place in his ministry.
Made was appearing before the Agriculture Portfolio Committee in Parliament. The minister arrogantly skirted questions pertaining to a deal between Arda and a private consortium, Ratings.
Asked why his ministry did not follow the Kudenga and Company audit report recommendations on the Arda-Ratings deal, the minister retorted: “The ministry is not aware of the report. Who commissioned it? I would be happy to receive and read the audit report . . . I don’t go to the ministry to read all the documents for the sake of reading material.”
This is a senior Cabinet minister who is supposed to be representing the executive branch of government. Made, as a Cabinet minister, is expected to be part of the body that collectively decides the government’s policies and tactical direction.
More so, he holds the crucial post of Agriculture, taking into cognisance the fact that the country’s economy is agro-based. If he is ignorant of important issues in the ministry he heads, how then does he implement policy? With people like Made holding key posts in government, we can safely kiss the prospects of economic recovery goodbye.
It boggles the mind why Made thinks he is not responsible for government policy or that he should not “waste time” reading policy documents in his ministry. Does he think information is stored or passed in his ministry through folklore?
If Made does not make it his business to read documents in the ministry to acquaint himself with important issues, what business is he doing in government heading such an important ministry that defines the direction of our economy?
Ministers of Made’s ilk think that their role in government is simply to spend taxpayers’ hard-earned money. This is not the first time Made has shown arrogance. He is well-known for misleading the nation several times on the state of agricultural production, particularly grains — the backbone of the majority’s staple diet.
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Made is one minister whom we ceased to take seriously long back and it is fact that only the patronage system in Zanu PF keeps him in government.
He has, over the years, presided over the nation’s transformation from being the region’s breadbasket to a basket case. What boggles the mind is that he seems to be proud of his ignorance about policy issues in his ministry.
It is a pity that Made gives the impression that the last thing on his mind is anything pertaining to government policy.
He does not seem to understand the connection between his arrogance and the suffering majority. And this is a man is supposed to be our Agriculture minister.
Ministers like Made are an insult to the nation and they have no business being in government. They are a thorn in the nation’s flesh feeding off taxpayers’ money for nothing.
Even kids playing house have a better sense of responsibility than what the likes of Made parade.
