The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture has told government to stop hoodwinking the citizenry with numerous suspensions of public officers that do not have any impact on curbing corruption in the public service.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, the committee’s chairperson Sameer Suleman said Malawians were tired of the suspensions that are executed just to blindfold people as if something is being done.

He was reacting to the suspension of National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) chief executive officer Brenda Kayongo last Friday over the missing of 7 500 bags of the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) maize worth K123 million.

The maize was in 13 trucks which disappeared while in the custody of a transporter Kachere Agriculture Trading, owned by Smollett Kachere, a firm NFRA hired to ferry the grain.

Trapence: Cases must be
fully investigated

The missing of maize was detected on August 30 2022 when a truck with a van under Kachere Agriculture Trading, registration MN9814/ CA 680 loaded with 600 bags of maize from Kabwafu, Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) market, arrived at Kanengo to offload the maize.

Initially, NFRA senior officers reportedly attempted to conceal the suspected theft but their eeforts were frustrated after officials in Admarc depots where the maize was collected posted to the receiving centre point at NFRA how much maize was taken from them.

But Suleman observed the Tonse Alliance administration has effected numerous suspensions of senior public officers without prosecutions at the expense of billions of taxpayers’ money that has been mismanaged.

While descri bing the suspension of Kayongo as long overdue, he said as a committee, they would want to see everyone involved in theft of the maize brought to book.

Said Suleman: “We have been saying these people in these offices don’t love their country and they are busy plundering every institution. We want all these suspensions to be followed by court cases and convictions.

“Government knows these people and some of them are connected to our leaders. This must stop immediately and everything that has been lost must be paid back. Otherwise these suspensions are not scaring offenders as they are left scot-free after enriching themselves with public money,” said Suleman, who is Blantyre South City East parliamentarian.

In a separate interview yesterday, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said the issue of the missing maize was long overdue and needed to be fully investigated.

“Those connected were supposed to face to law. The Tonse administration seems not committed to seeing this case being investigated and those responsible brought to book.

“This impunity must end as it is counterproductive to our democracy,” he said. n

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