Government through the Ministry of Agriculture says Malawi Police Services (MPS) and the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) are investigating 75 cases involving selling points in the 2023/24 Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) across the country,.
This has been disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale, in Nkhata-Bay district during a press conference at Mzenga Irrigation Scheme alongside a field tour of other irrigation schemes in the district.
The Minister indicated that out of the 1.5 million targeted beneficiaries of the AIP, 77 percent have managed to redeem fertilizers.
“The majority have bought NPK while others have purchased both NPK and UREA and the ministry has managed to address some challenges facing the initiative, and we are working with the Police and ACB to investigate the remaining cases,” said Kawale
He further revealed that Malawi Police have registered 15 cases involving 20 people suspected of perpetrating illegal activity at selling points.
“The ACB is also investigating 60 AIP related cases, and some have already been prosecuted, while other cases are still pending in courts,” he said.
Kawale also indicated that regardless of the challenges the Ministry, will continue implementing the initiative until it achieves it’s purpose.
On the other hand, Kawale visited Mpamba selling point to appreciate progress and to monitor how the exercise is running in the district.
In his remarks, Senior chief Timbiri said that so far he has not received any complaint nor malpractice surrounding the implementation of AIP in his area and that the programme is running smoothly across the district.
One of the AIP beneficiaries, Enet Kamanga from Senior chief Timbiri in Nkhata- Bay district, said that she has easily managed to purchase both UREA and NPK fertilizers, unlike last year when she only purchased one type of fertilizer.
