Malawi's President Chakwera fires agriculture minister and deputy in crackdown on fraud

In a televised address to the nation, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera fired Agriculture Minister Lobin Lowe and his deputy to immediate effect for “incompetence and gross negligence.”

Chakwera did not mince his words on Tuesday evening as he described how Lowe allegedly failed to supply Malawi's 3.3 million smallholder farmers with inputs and fertiliser from the Affordable Imputs Programme (AIP).

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The president outlined in detail the alleged fraud committed in the ministry, including how a British agent was used to secure fertilizer for the programme, but was not properly vetted.

The agent was paid 725,000 euros in two installments “without any credible evidence that this company had any credibility to secure fertiliser,” said Chakwera, adding, “The supplier's capacity turned out to be without merit.”

The British company, which he did not identify by name, asked for the payment to be made in two different installments in two different bank accounts in two different countries.

“In light of this, the food security of the country has been left in great jeopardy,” he said.

Over six months ago, at the start of the financial year, he instructed the heads of the agriculture and the affordable inputs program to put the program in place by September.

“They have failed to do this, and it is a failure I consider completely unacceptable.”

Getting back Malawi's money
Chakwera told Malawians that he went into emergency mode in order to try and salvage the planting season, as well as deal with recovering the money “illegally” paid to the unnamed British agent.

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After terminating the contract, Malawi's attorney general office went to both banks in two different countries that had received the money and is in the process of recovering the money.

Once the $725,000 is back in Malawi “the treasury will issue a public notice to inform you of the same,” he told viewers, dismissing rumours circulated by an MP in agriculture department who said the missing money totaled 29.3 million euros.

“Most important is to rescue this year's AIP and to deliver the needed fertilizer to millions of farmers around the country in time for the upcoming planting season," he said.

Chakwera convened an emergency cabinet meeting during the week of September to deal with this matter and formed a committee overseen by Sam Kawale, minister of lands, who came through in procuring fertilisers immediately.

Farming emergency mode
Although he contends that Malawi normally orders fertilisers directly through manufacturers, the emergency situation prompted the ministry to source available fertilizer from local suppliers.

Some 35,000 metric tons of Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium (NPK) and 31,727 metric tons of Urea have been identified within the country, and letters of credit have been issued, he said.

“There are 7,000 metric tons of NPK is on its way from Beira in Mozambique; another 51,000 metric tons of NPK is in the process of procurement and 31,500 metric tons of urea have been secured from abroad.”

The urgency of getting the fertilizers to farmers on time has not deterred him from his need to reform the farming AIP programme in order to prevent issues like this one from happening again.

Chakwera says the ministry will place next year's fertilizer order early, which will be carried out “by people who know how to do the job, instead of by people who want the job, but don't know how to do it.”