Mbabane-Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka has given the incoming Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) board members ‘a job description.’
This follows the five key EWADE projects the minister shared with the 10 board members during the first public meeting with them at the ministry’s offices in Mbabane on Monday.
The minister reminded Nomsa Dlamini Tibane (Chairperson), Majawonkhe Dlamini, Busangaye Masina, Sifiso Khumalo, Siboniso Masilela, Muzi Siyaya, Sydney Simelane, Sifiso Shongwe, Busa Masina and Dr Samson Sithole, CEO, of the ministry and its parastatal, EWADE, mandates. These, he said, were decentralisation of services, food sovereignty, and wealth creation.
In his five pointed plan, the minister told the board members of the continuity of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (Lusip II), where he pleaded for acceleration of its completion.
The second project shared was the Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Project (MNWAP). This project is set to unlock an ecocity, generate electricity, and lead to the construction of factories.
The minister urged that this project ought to be finished “within time and budget.”
Tshawuka also told them of the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement and Marketing Project (SAPEMP) funded by IFAD at the value of E851 million.
He then shared on a youth-focused project funded by the Works Bank. The project is to develop training camps, business management, and patriotism to the youth.
The minister ended with a food sovereignty project EWADE was embarking on. He said E40 million worth of maize and beans would be planted at the commercial scale.
“That E40 million must go,” he said, reminding them of the importance of these projects.
Speaking on behalf of the board members, the board Chairperson, Tibane, said they were fully committed to carrying out their governance and oversight related roles that they have been tasked with.
