GOV’T TO PAY OVER D1M OWED TO FARMERS BY SECCO

By Tabora Bojang

Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally has instructed the National Food Security, Processing and Marketing Corporation formerly GGC, to pay twenty-one groundnut farmers, mainly from Toro Alasan who have endured months of frustration over unpaid monies owed by their local Secco president.

The farmers alleged that the Secco president of Kerr Alagie-Karu, Jim Gaye owed them D1,021,198 from purchasing of their groundnuts.

The farmers have since reported the matter to the police hoping to get a solution, but to no avail. 

Last month, Minister Sabally addressed the matter at a press conference revealing that Gaye was paid the complete amount due to the farmers but he allegedly did not hand over the money to them and that the police are preparing to prosecute him.

But the farmers persisted, insisting that since they have handed their nuts to the Secco for onward transmission to the government depot, government should take the responsibility to pay them and then   prosecute the alleged culprit for his alleged crime.

 Well, it appears government has seen a lot of sense in that and has decided to protect the farmers from further suffering by stepping to pay them.

According to Agriculture Minister Sabally, he had taken the matter to the cabinet where it was discussed and agreed that government should go ahead and pay the farmers and then later deal with the Secco president.

“We acknowledged these irregularities. The concerned Secco president was arrested based on the farmer’s complaints and taken to Barra police station and because the case involved over a million dalasis, it has been moved to the police fraud squad,” the minister said.

 He further stated that upon receiving this information, he instructed GGC to pay the 21 farmers involved and continue the prosecution of the accused person until his fate is decided by the court.

“The farmers will not lose a butut. We as government under the instruction of the cabinet instructed GGC to pay them and that should either have been done by now or at an advanced stage of being done,” he said.

Sabally promised to follow up with the Corporation to ensure they carry out the directive and effect payment.

On the farmers’ allegation that the same Secco president  is  currently acting as an officially recognised  fertiliser dealer , the minister said he cannot confirm that but warned that Gaye must not at any time be involved in fertiliser selling.

“He may be a subsidiary of another person, but he is not certainly on our list of fertiliser dealers that came to me for approval, I have not cleared him and I will make my findings to ensure that he is never involved in fertiliser selling,” Minister Sabally said.