By Clever Mwale:
Police have arrested three sales clerks and launched a nationwide probe into alleged fraud under the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
The arrests were made in Chiradzulu following complaints from beneficiaries who discovered that their national identity (ID) cards showed they had redeemed their fertiliser despite not doing so.
National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo identified the suspects as Trevor Hakim, 39, Mark Kandiolo, 28, and Alfred Ngoma, 26, all sales clerks linked to the programme.
Chimtembo said police are hunting four other sales clerks who remain at large as investigations expand across multiple selling points.
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He said the suspects have been charged with fraud other than false pretence and that investigations were prompted by formal complaints from affected farmers.
Chimtembo added that police are now conducting a full-scale investigation to establish how perpetrators bypassed ID security features including QR codes and liveliness test requirements.
“Among our key concerns is how the system was accessed and abused despite safeguards meant to protect beneficiaries,” he said.
On Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture Roza Mbilizi publicly acknowledged abuse of the Fisp system and warned that the government would act decisively against those undermining the programme.
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“It is very sad that such a valuable initiative is being abused by our own people and we will deal with this decisively,” Mbilizi said during a recent field visit.
She also revealed that some beneficiaries were being asked to pay more than the prescribed K10,000 contribution while others were mysteriously removed from the system.
At national level, government figures indicate that only about 47 percent of targeted beneficiaries have so far been reached, raising questions about the programme’s effectiveness and timing.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira said the “unfolding scandal” points to deep-rooted governance failures rather than isolated misconduct.
“Fraud of this kind does not happen by accident; it is a calculated move by those entrusted to run the programme,” Kambwandira said.
He added that the failure to deliver inputs on time has already undermined the programme’s purpose and exposed weak planning and execution.
