Posted on August, 31, 2018 at 09:41 am
By AGATHA NGOTHO
Some 297 farmers have been vetted and will start receiving their payment for maize delivered starting on Friday next week.
Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa yesterday said of the 998 farmers, who have not been paid for deliveries, 723 farmers have collected the forms required for vetting. “Only 317 farmers have filled and returned the forms, and 297 farmers have been successfully vetted and will be the first to receive payment,” he said.
Wamalwa made the announcement hours after police arrested Agriculture PS Richard Lesiyampe, former cereals board CEO Newton Terer and finance boss Kiprotich Ng’elechey over the irregular purchase of maize by cereals board officials.
Wamalwa told a Senate Committee that they are at the tail end of vetting farmers. He said the process, which started on August 20, has identified unscrupulous traders who don’t deserve to be paid.
Wamalwa said Sh1.4 billion will be paid to farmers and this will cover at least 61 per cent of the payment.
“The payments will be complete within 21 days and we will then request for more funds from the national Treasury to pay the remaining 39 per cent,” the CS said.
Two weeks ago, farmers from the North Rift raised concerns about being vetted again, but the CS defended the move saying the process is critical to ensure only genuine farmers get paid as recommend by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Wamalwa said through the Presidential Directive Order, the Strategic Food Reserve was transferred from the Agriculture ministry to the Devolution ministry.
“The ministry formed a multi-agency team comprising officials from the ministries of agriculture, devolution, the EACC, the DCI and the National Intelligence Service,” the CS said.
“The team was to look into the issues raised by farmers and ensure that vetting is done and only genuine farmers benefit from the Sh1.4 billion.”
EACC commissioner Mwaniki Gachoka said the vetting process must be done in a transparent manner.
“Identifying and paying genuine farmers is what got us in this situation, where some people were given preference in payment of the maize delivered to the NCPB depots instead of deserving farmers,” he said.
National Cereals and Produce Board acting managing director Albin Sang said farmers are still owed Sh2.1 billion, once they receive Sh1.4 billion payments starting next week.
The matter has been under investigation in the wake of farmers’ complaints of non-payment of produce delivered to the NCPB depots.
An internal ministry report had smoked out 18 unscrupulous traders, suspected to have links with powerful people who benefited from the payout. The report laid bare the rot at the NCPB, exposing how well-connected cartels are minting billions at the expense of farmers.
Source: The Star