Opposition MPs taunt govt over AIP
They braved a heavy downpour as they chanted and danced to express their displeasure with the distribution logistics of Urea fertiliser in their constituencies amid perceptions of favouritism.
In total, there were at least 30 opposition members of Parliament (MPs) from Southern and Eastern regions holding a vigil at Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) warehouse at Chirimba industrial site in Blantyre.
The MPs spent nearly seven hours inside the complex of the parastatal managing this year’s Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) logistics, demanding the release of Urea they claimed government was deliberately hoarding in the warehouse.
Clad in black attire, the legislators further alleged they had inside information that government had directed SFFRFM to hoard the fertiliser as it was under collateral management, a claim Ministry of Agriculture disputed as speculative.
The MPs’ protest followed hot on the heels of another claim that government had collected 5 000 metric tonnes (MT) of Urea, but only distributed 1 000 MT to the two regions while the rest was dispatched to the Central Region, a stronghold of Tonse Alliance main partner Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Speaking on behalf of the disgruntled MPs, Machinga East legislator Esther Jolobala (United Democratic Front-UDF) said their pleas to Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale to consider giving them Urea as the maize in the two regions requires the commodity fell on deaf ears.
“Government must be ashamed that as lawmakers we could reach this level. Holding of this vigil to demand the fertiliser was the last resort because we have been waiting for long and our farmers are now restless because maize has started tasselling,” she said.
During the vigil, the MPs found almost 4 000MT of Urea in the warehouse which they demanded to be immediately released and dispatched to the constituencies in the two regions.
Upon learning there was fertiliser in stock, the MPs sealed the gates so that no truck loaded with fertiliser should drive out.
“We want equal distribution of resources. Every area should benefit from the same cake and not just one region and disadvantaging the others,” lamented Jolobala.
The MPs were later told that government had released 3 000MT of Urea to be distributed in the two regions.
But Kawale dismissed the legislators’ assertions, claiming they were misinformed about the 5 000MT Urea which created panic among them.
The minister said there was no reason for the MPs to panic as fertiliser was being distributed across fairly so “this [vigil] was unnecessarily because somebody just created fear and panic”.
He said: “There is enough fertiliser. We have almost 4 000 MT which is being blended by Optichem, about 8 000 MT by Malawi Fertiliser Company and we are also receiving around 10 000 MT from Beira. This weekend we also expect another 20 000 MT from the World Food Programme.
“So the 3 000 MT that has been released today is just a fraction of more fertiliser that is coming and not that government only approved that amount of fertiliser.”
Since its launch in October 2020 as the Tonse Alliance administration’s flagship campaign promise, AIP has been riddled with logistical glitches that have frustrated smooth implementation.
