East E-voucher scam

...farmers tricked into giving away cards

THE Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) in Eastern Province has unearthed a scam in which some leaders of cooperatives in some districts where the E-voucher program was piloted last year collected cards from their members but collected farming inputs for themselves.

Provincial coordinator Maxson Nkhoma named Chipata, Katete and Petauke among the districts in which such irregularities were happening.

He added that some of the people whose inputs were collected were reportedly expelled from some cooperatives for demanding for accountability from their leaders.

Mr. Nkhoma said his organisation had reported the culprits to the Anti-Corruption Commission in Chipata and asked it to expedite its investigations so that the law could take its course on those who will be found wanting.

“Our organisation has learnt with shock and serious concern that some cooperative leaders in districts where the E-voucher input distribution programme was piloted last year took peculiar advantage of their positions to collect cards from their members to collect farming inputs from agro dealers which inputs did not match with money Government had deposited in the E-voucher cards of the affected farmers.

“Some cooperatives have even expelled their members for demanding for accountability from their cooperative leaders. We have reported a number of cooperatives to the ACC for investigations in Chipata and we urge the commission to expedite their investigation and bring those cooperative leaders responsible to book before the distribution of farming inputs in the 2017/2018 farming season can start,” Mr. Nkhoma said.

He called on farmers not to allow anyone to get their cards without their consent as the vouchers were personal-to-holder.

“The subsidised farming inputs are supposed to be a preserve of the vulnerable but viable farmers not people with capacity to buy farming inputs on their own,” Mr. Nkhoma said.