ACB says probing K750m AIP mess

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma has said the bureau is investigating the alleged K750 million botched Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) fertiliser deal.

She told the joint parliamentary committee probing the AIP mismanagement on Wednesday that the bureau did not vet a contract between Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund (SFFRFM) and Baarkat Foods Limited that saw government paying K750 million to a United Kingdom-based company, Baarkat Foods Limited.

Chizuma said the bureau received complaints on AIP deals and is now looking into the issue of Baarkat Foods Limited fertiliser procurement deal.

She said: “The bureau has set up two special teams to investigate the Baarkat deal and another deal involving Paramount Holdings Limited. Any single sourcing procurement is supposed to be vetted by ACB.”

The Baarkat deal followed a single sourcingprocurement method.

Chizuma said the ACB hopes to finish investigations on the Baarkat deal by January end.

Co-chairperson of the joint committee Gladys Ganda said the committee has noted that the bureau was not engaged on the bogus deal, stressing that the ACB needs to note that the contract was beyond K750 million as that amount was for price locking and trial run.

“The contract was for more than K750 million. The indication is that K750 million was for locking the price. There is clear information that government paid the money and that ACB was not involved,” she said.

SFFRFM entered into a deal with Baarkat Foods Limited to source 800 0000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser for AIP.

Government paid K750 million it said was for a trial run that would see Baarkat Foods Limited 25 000MT being supplied.

However, it was later discovered that Baarkat Foods Limited did not have the capacity to supply fertiliser