Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) has unveiled a list of successful bidders to supply inputs for the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) which  shows the cost has shot up 70 percent above budget.

In the 2022/23 National Budget, Parliament approved K109.5 billion allocation for the AIP, representing about 85 percent of the total agriculture budget.

Gwengwe: It is
unacceptable

But the SFFRFM notice issued on Tuesday showed that taxpayers will spend about K188.2 billion on the programme.

Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe in an interview on Tuesday said the increase in the budget was unacceptable. He maintained that the approved budget for AIP stands at K109 billion.

“They [SFFRFM] can only award according to an approved budget. They can not anticipate the upcoming budget,” he said in a brief Whatsapp response.

SFFRFM indicated that it had concluded the bid  evaluation process and intended to award contracts to 92 successful bidders to procure 185 700 tonnes of fertliser for the 2022/23 AIP.

On how the SFFRFM intends to fund the deficit given that the budget remains at K109 billion, SFFRFM chief executive officer Richard Chikunkhuzeni asked for a questionnaire.

But former minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha said it is allowed to increase a budget when need arises but noted the development could exert pressure on the budget.

He said: “It is disturbing to learn that the SFFRFM and government seem not to speak one language and one wonders why this is so, but Section 177 the Malawi Constitution allows for a supplementary expenditure when need rises which, however, needs to be approved by Cabinet.

“Suffice to say, such a development means other crucial sectors like education may suffer as attention would be given to one particular sector. On the other hand, this means the government would be forced to borrow locally, thus bloating the budgeted Institute for Southern Africa Malawi chairperson Teresa Ndanga has bemoaned the culture of secrecy surrounding AIP, saying it defeats the essence of Access to Information.

She said: “This trend is worrying. We need the government to be proactive in the provision of information on AIP, especially because of the mist that has surrounded the programme this year.

“We hope with the guidance of the Ministry of Information, all government ministries and departments can be open and provide information proactively.”

Last Friday, government cancelled at the eleventh hour a scheduled press briefing on the same topic amid concerns surrounding preparations and implementation of this year’s AIP amid reports of controversies, ranging from authorities being duped in fertiliser import deals and delays to release the list of beneficiaries.

Last season, 3.7 million farmers benefited from the programme with 30 000 getting goats each valued at K80 000, equivalent to the government’s fertiliser contribution to each farmer.

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