Eastern Province Deputy Permanent Secretary, Dr. Lewis Mwape has denied claims of businessmen paying Petauke residents K50 in exchange for the use of their NRCs to purchase FRA relief maize.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mwape clarified that after discussions with traditional leadership and the absence of concrete evidence, the claims appeared to be more speculative in nature.
Dr. Mwape stated that the government has established measures to prevent such occurrences adding that beneficiaries are now only permitted to purchase from designated depots using their NRCs and money, with a limit of one 50kg bag of maize per month. He said this approach aims to streamline the distribution process and ensure that maize is accessed legitimately by those for whom it is intended.
“It was a bit more speculative as there was not much evidence, as we as government came in and we discussed with the traditional leadership especially his royal highness Chief Mumbi as well as his royal highness Chief Mwanjabantu and we did not hear anything regarding that,” He said.
Mwape stated that people will now start desisting from doing that as the Government has put in conditions that if anyone is found wanting they will not be allowed even on a genuine basis to procure the community maize as it is meant for them and not trade.
“Where the problem was, is that the first approach of buying remember that when buying the community maize people were supposed to have deposited the money at a bank in town and so what the citizens were doing in the community from far places who are supposed to be the beneficiaries was that, they were putting their NRCs and money to one person to go and deposit the money then they get the receipt then they go and buy so meaning that that process could have been abused to some extent,” He said.
“You can imagine maybe we say you are coming from Mwanjabantu and you want to buy one bag, so for you to buy that one bag you have to go to Petauke town to go and deposit the money through ZANACO and then you go back in Mwanjabantu again to go and present your receipt and be given the bag of maize,” He said.
He added that this will also ensure that there is a cut on transport as it will benefit the local residents.
