Strategy for green schemes revealed

Strategy for green schemes revealed OGONE TLHAGE



WINDHOEK

Cabinet has directed that government’s green schemes be operated on a public-private-partnership basis in line with the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

Under the envisaged model, Cabinet directed that the green schemes be developed privately in communal and commercial areas and that technically and managerially competent project managers be hired to manage the schemes, a ministry of agriculture memo dated 8 December stipulated.

Under the terms of condition, whenever green scheme farms are outsourced, the lease agreement must provide for 10% shares for the small-scale farmers operating farming units at such schemes and that the operator must build the capacity of the small-scale farmers to progressively increase their shares in the farm business to reach maturity shareholding in the subsequent lease period, the memo noted.

The latter would enable operators of green schemes to take over the full management of the entire scheme on expiry of the operator’s contract, Cabinet said.

It also directed that green schemes must be managed as separate business entities under the new envisaged model.

“Cabinet approved that in the case where models for operating government-owned green scheme projects - in alignment with the policy, each green scheme will operate and be managed as a separate business entity, with a tailor-made business plan to be developed by the private sector entity, allotted to lease the scheme coupled with a dedicated steering committee to oversee the management of each scheme,” the ministry said.

An audit of all green schemes is also to be conducted, it added.