Transglobe, one of the country’s produce dealers, has withdrawn a case against Parliament, in which it challenged a recommendation to exclude it from participating in the Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (Fisp).
Attorney General Charles Mhango confirmed in an interview Monday that the case has been withdrawn, saying Transglobe sued a wrong party.
One of Transglobe’s directors, Rashid Tayub, is answering a corruption case together with former minister of Agriculture George Chaponda and Grace Mijiga-Mhango.
“They sued a wrong party [Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development). The said pronouncements were made by the chairman of the Agriculture Committee of Parliament [Joseph Chidanti- Malunga] in his own capacity, his views did not represent his committee or Parliament,” Mhango said.
Mhango said Chidanti- Malunga said in the said article that he was expressing his own opinion and wondered why Parliament was dragged into the case.
“I advised the Transglobe lawyers that they directed the complaint to a wrong party; they were not supposed to take Parliament or the committee to court,” Mhango said.
Lawyers at Parliament refused to comment on the matter, referring the reporter back to the Attorney General who, they said, represented Parliament in court.
In addition, Mhango said Parliament does not make decisions on government contracts, let alone Fisp contracts, although it does its oversight functions on government contracts.
Mhango said the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Office of the Director of Public Procurement (ODPP) have not placed Transglobe on a restriction order not to supply farm inputs through Fisp.
“Although one of the directors of Transglobe is under investigations and the issue is in court, the company is not under any restriction order. Transglobe is just wasting time attacking Parliament because there is no decision made to bar them from supplying the farm in-puts,” Mhango said.
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