By Pemphero Malimba:
Ministry of Agriculture officials have expressed ignorance on reports that the government wants to pay out K70 billion to East Bridge for the procurement of fertiliser.
This transpired during a meeting between ministry officials and members of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture on the current status of the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP).
It all started when committee chairperson Sameer Suleman asked the officials if they knew anything about the government’s alleged intention to pay the company despite the government’s earlier communication to scrap off the deal.
According to Suleman, the committee was, earlier this week, told by Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) officials that the SFFRFM board agreed to offer a contract to East Bridge.
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However, when responding to the query, Ministry of Agriculture Principal Secretary responsible for Irrigation Services Geoffrey Mamba said the ministry was not aware of the deal.
“We should admit that this [what you are telling us] has come as new information. Your committee should allow us to go back and look for information,” Mamba said.
He said the ministry would provide details on the matter in the next eight days.
“Give us until Friday next week so that we should provide relevant information on the matter,” he said.
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In an interview after the meeting, Suleman said they wanted answers on the issue.
“We want them to explain to us what East Bridge is demanding and why the government is pushing to be paid. We, therefore, want to know what they [the company] want us to pay for,” he said.
In 2023, the government and East Bridge signed an agreement for the supply of 600,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser valued at K125 billion.
The deal later flopped and nothing was shown on delivery of the contract.
