Two NGO officials arrested for swindling peasant farmers

POLICE in Chipata have arrested two officials of a non governmental organisation (NGO) called Harvest Help for swindling peasant farmers more than K600 million.

The 400 swindled farmers had sold maize to the NGO.

The two named officials are in police custody to help with investigation into the matter.

Eastern Province police chief Mary Chikwanda confirmed the arrest but could not give more details as the police were still investigating.

The two leaders are alleged to have collected a number of bags of maize from the farmers and did not pay for them.

The farmers’ group leader Malekano Phiri who is MMD Ng’ongwe Ward councillor said the maize was given to Harvest Help in August and to date, the NGO had not paid for it.

He said the farmers gave their maize to Harvest Help after the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) indicated they had met their target in all the satellite depots.

“We gave Harvest Help the maize because we were desperate after the FRA indicated they had already bought the quantity of maize required in each satellite depot,” Mr Phiri said.

Mr Phiri said the farmers gave the maize to Harvest Help because of the trust they had for the organisation which had been working with the community in all the wards in Chipata.

He said Harvest Help sold the maize it bought from farmers to millers and was paid cash but went on to cheat farmers that they had not yet been paid.

Mr Phiri complained that farmers had been subjected to misery due to the non payment of their money by the NGO.

He said farmers did not have money to buy farming inputs for this farming season.
Mr Phiri said the Government should confiscate and sell assets of the NGO for the farmers to be paid.

And Chipata District Farmers Association coordinator Virgil Malambo said he was supprised the NGO was involved in such malpractices.
Mr Malambo said it was wrong for Harvest Help to swindle the farmers.

[Times of Zambia]