State to pull funds from slack agribusinesses

GOVERNMENT will stop funding agricultural institutions which fail to produce acquittals and timely reports, National Planning and Monitoring Minister Richard Maru says.
Maru issued the warning at the national agriculture summit yesterday which was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors involved in agriculture.
“Boards that do not function, do not have audit reports, do not have good governance, will never be funded again,” Maru said.
“Make sure we appoint competent boards, directors, CEOs who know what they are doing.
“The support next year maybe the last for you. Let me be very clear with all of you.
“I have put in a very strong audit and compliance team at the Department of National Planning and Monitoring.
“We are going to chase after every file we give to all sectors and all departments. Those who don’t perform will no longer be given funding. We don’t need liabilities in this place. That’s one big change that is going to happen. I need performance.”
Maru said Government was going to invest more in agriculture to grow the economy.
“We are going to put in a substantial funding for oil palm growers, especially for our small farmers and OPIC (Oil Palm Industry Corporation).
“Where we have government projects, we are going to focus on the roads there and seal those roads. Enough of building roads that do not lead to exports. We are now going to target investments that are going to result in exports or import replacements.”