RESEARCH Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ) has bemoaned the slow mobilisation of resources and underfunding by Treasury of strategic national projects.
Speaking at the RCZ annual general meeting last week, chairperson Zororo Muranda said the research council had been doing its best to inform policymakers but resources to fund the projects had been slow.
RCZ partnered Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority eight years ago but to date, various projects recommended by the council ended prematurely due to underfunding and corruption.
“Amendments to the Research Act also include proposals that the State provides money allotted by Parliament for research, particularly which addresses issues of innovation, technology and science because that kind of research is expensive,” Muranda said.
“Projects on energy have been ongoing and policymakers have been taking our advice but what might be slow is the availing of resources to fulfil the projects.
“The national context within which operations were conducted in 2021 called for domestic growth; capacitation of institutions; transformative action; development of heritage-based technology and innovation; and value creation for the propelling of the nation’s development trajectory,” he added.
RCZ executive director Nelson Maseko said funding to the council from Treasury was inadequate for projects meant for national development.
“We get our funding mainly from the government but the allocation is not enough. We also get funding from the associations that we are a member of as the science granting council,” Maseko said.
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