PIUS RUGONZIBWA recently from Mtwara, 26th November 2009 @ 11:04, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 262
THEFT of more than 560m/- farmers’ hard earned cash has been reported in Mtwara region with thieves using suspect warehouse receipt system. The Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, has already reacted to the report by instructing strict and thorough audit to detect more losses and hold the culprits accountable.
The funds were squandered during the 2007/08 and 2008/09 farming seasons in which leaders of the primary societies in the region are alleged to have obtained through forging records that led to a loss of 235,735 tonnes of cashew nuts that were stored in various primary cooperative societies’ warehouses.
The prime minister said it was high time evil people in the cooperative societies sabotaging the system were fished out and booked.
“I am told documents were forged, and some leaders took money that were secured from the banks to buy crops from farmers and yet no clear explanation has been given to date. This can not be tolerated,” he stressed.
According to the report, poor record keeping that led to easily tampering with books of accounts by people trusted to man the warehouses, improper expenditures without obtaining go ahead from members of the cooperative societies were all mentioned as causes for the loss.
The report revealed further that leaders spent farmers’ money through buying luxurious vehicles and construction of posh houses thus accumulating the bank interest to 368m/- which will eventually be recovered at the poor farmers’ expense.
The prime minister, who was on official tour of Lindi and Mtwara regions, said he also got information that some of the senior officials in both regions were actively involved in the theft although no direct evidence connected them to the incidents.
The warehouse receipt system was strictly protected by many people who clearly told the prime minister that they had no confidence any more in some of their leaders whom they suspect were using the system for their personal gain. Many were of the opinion that the system be extensively overhauled to allow them get their cash once they sell their crops unlike the present practice.
“People are very right when they question the sudden wealth accumulation by their leaders as soon as the system was introduced, let us all fight this malpractices once and for all,” he said.
The premier appealed for the regional authorities to conduct awareness campaigns over the system and that the government will arrange for lecturers from Moshi University College of Cooperative Studies (MUCCoBS) to provide more training on the same.
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