People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) has warned President Joyce Banda’s administration to avoid taking Malawians for granted by awarding fertiliser contracts to relatives and those with political connections with the ruling party.
In a statement released on Monday, PPM also demanded that government should conduct procurement and financial audit of the previous contracts.
PPM has reminded Banda that on December 10 2011, she told a gathering in Ntcheu that she was aware that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government was awarding fertiliser contracts to family, friends and relatives of people in power, a development she said compromised transparency and accountability.
The party says it is dismayed with information it has gathered that there was a syndicate manipulating the fertiliser subsidy programme tendering process with the help of government and some political gurus.
Reads the statement signed by PPM publicity secretary Redson Munlo: “The People’s Progressive Movement would, therefore, want to seriously warn the PP government not to take Malawians for granted like the DPP did.”
Munlo says the party wants Members of Parliament to critically scrutinise the 2012/13 Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) vote to save taxpayers’ resources from selfish individuals.
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Nyiombo tops on subsidy preparedness
KONDWANI MUNTHALI
Nyiombo Investments, one of the major suppliers for the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp), has been named as a leading supplier in terms of preparedness to supply, manage and distribute fertiliser, according to a draft report on the programme.
Others firms that have made it on the top 10 list in terms of management and timely distribution include Export Trading, Farmers World and Simama General Dealers.
The report says Nyiombo Investments beat off the supply delivery date by three weeks. Commenting on the report, Nyiombo Investments manager Honest Tembo said the firm was able to supply fertiliser within the prescribed period for the 2011/12 year because of adequate capacity and the fact that the company imports directly from manufacturers.
