ACB doing spot checks on subsidised fertiliser sales

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it is conducting spot checks on sales of fertiliser under the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) to pick on any cases of corruption where traders are said to be charging more than the recommended K500 for a 50 kilogramme bag of subsidised fertiliser.

ACB senior public officer Egrita Ndala said this in an emailed response to a questionnaire on the recent World Bank assessment into the system of choosing beneficiaries of the multi-billion Fisp which revealed that up to 57 percent of people who receive the fertiliser coupons are not eligible to benefit from the programme.

“The Anti-Corruption Bureau has been involved in prevention of malpractices during Fisp by among other things sensitising the different stakeholders against corruption in Fisp implementation. The bureau has also been involved in spot checks during the sale of the inputs to ensure that the beneficiaries buy the inputs at the recommended price,” said Ndala.

She said the identification of Fisp beneficiaries is supposed to follow procedures, saying any departure from the procedures to choose people based on relations could amount to corruption.

“The distribution of Fisp fertiliser is supposed to follow procedures of identifying beneficiaries so that it benefits the targeted beneficiaries.

“The selection of beneficiaries based on their relationship with the community leaders could be interpreted as corruption but this could be so if it is proven that the community leader selected only those close to them leaving the poor who are the target of the programme,” said Ndala.

She said the bureau has been advising different stakeholders on the best practices to prevent corruption in the Fisp programme.

“Where reports have come to the bureau, the bureau has conducted investigations into Fisp related allegations where some people including community leaders have been prosecuted and convicted,” said Ndala.

According to the World Bank report on the comprehensive assessment of the Fisp coupon distribution system, the programme is not achieving its intended objective of helping the poor move out of poverty because most coupons are not distributed based on poverty levels but other factors come into play including one’s relation to community leaders.

“The multivariate analysis of household programme participation reveals that the relatively well-off, rather than the poor or the wealthiest, have a higher likelihood of programme participation and, on average, receive a greater number of input coupons,” reads the report in part.

The assessment blames Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, district councils and community structures for failing to effectively target the poor in the programme.

But the ministry’s spokesperson Sarah Chowa said government still looks at Fisp as a success despite some challenges that need to be addressed.