Those selling or buying the agricultural inputs earmarked for the climate-proofed Presidential Inputs Scheme, Pfumvudza/Intwasa, will be sent to court where jail sentences can be imposed on conviction with admission of guilt fines at a police station not being an option.
The charges will be standard criminal charges of fraud, theft, unlawful possession and misrepresentation, and there is going to be a lot of co-operation between the police, the Grain Marketing Board and Agritex who are already digging into reports that some farmers are selling inputs and others are buying and trading in these.
At a media briefing on the distribution of Pfumvudza inputs held in Harare yesterday, GMB chief executive Mr Rockie Mutenha said as part of efforts to reduce cases of inputs fraud, the GMB will be issuing permits for movement of inputs.
GMB would work with police at road blocks to ensure that inputs reached the intended farmers. Anyone found without the relevant documents would have the inputs impounded.
“We are going to have road blocks so we will be working closely with law enforcement agents and we will issue movement permits for inputs.
“These inputs are given to farmers to produce crops not to sell. If you don’t have a piece of land and no use for the inputs, please don’t receive the inputs.
“They are meant for crop production and not for retail business.
“These are clear cases of theft and fraud,” he said.
Farmers were not supposed to pay for the transport of inputs since the inputs were being given to the farmers for free by the President.
GMB is responsible for contracting transporters. When a transporter moves inputs to a ward, they raise an invoice for GMB to pay them.
“We have heard incidents where some transporters and some local leaders are requesting farmers to pay for the inputs. The correct position is that transporters raise an invoice which is submitted to GMB,” said Mr Mutenha.
Speaking at the same briefing national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said anyone found selling and buying Presidential inputs would be arrested.
“Presidential inputs are not for sale. Anyone found selling or buying these inputs will be arrested and we all urge the public to report such cases to any nearest police station. So far, no fines are accepted by police, these are serious cases of fraud so definitely all cases are taken to court,” he said.
Ass Comm Nyathi said they had arrested nine people across the country for abusing presidential inputs.
They are Allan Benzini (39), Christine Pfunde (47), Faith Ncube (50) and Rita Mathe(48) Tavonga Chikuni (18) Maizivei Themba (33) and Maizivei Gariyakumwe (43), Shylet Dumani (42) and Geogina Mandizha (39).
He said recently police in Plumtree recovered 18×30 kgs of compound D fertilisers, suspected to be Presidential farming inputs near Highgate Farm.
The fertilisers were abandoned in a bush by two unknown suspects who fled from the scene after a passerby stopped as they were hiding the fertiliser in the bush.
Presidential inputs are expected to reach up to 3 million rural households targeting farmers in communal lands, A1 resettlement, peri-urban and old resettlement areas. – The Herald
