…Farmers at Chinkhoma not paid since 11 April
..Mphwiyo’s company in crisis: Part 1
Tobacco farmers at Chinkhoma Auction Floors are yet to be paid as a new player in the market East Bridge Tobacco has been banned from the Auction floors after failing to pay for the tobacco it had bid. The company is associated with fugitive Paul Mphwiyo.
There has not bee an explanation as to why the funds are not being remitted to farmers.
The company is in a major ownership crisis as local and foreign directors are fighting for the ownership after it sourced fertiliser from Universal Fertilizer Company of Zambia and was paid over K30 billion in a deal that implicates President Lazarus Chakwera, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale and many high-ranking officials.
In our part two this weekend, The Investigator Magazine will detail the infighting that led to the arrest of Hiam Tzutziashvilli who was accused by a local Director of beating him and attempting to steal fertilisers from the warehouse.
After being paid billions, the company started infighting with some Director accused to selling the remaining fertiliser from Zambia in an open market and flying to South Africa to have fun in Sandton.
The company decided to play with the money it had made from the deal with the Ministry of Agriculture and formed East Bridge Tobacco which was announced as a new buyer on the auction floors.
They entered the tobacco market, creating the same mess they did with fertiliser supply which Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale went on national Tv to lie that the company had processing plant in Romania. East Bridge bought the fertiliser from Zambia and government paid higher price than agreed as there was a 5000-ton cut for Chakwera and Kawale for each consignment delivered.
The fertiliser would be given to MCP cadres for resale to beat direct cash transfers.
“Their bids were very high, after bidding for tobacco it was discovered, they do not have United States dollars which is the currency of the market, instead they were hoping to pay in kwacha. They have been chased from the market until they can produce dollars,” a senior market official told The Investigator Magazine this week.
The situation has left the Tobacco authorities in quagmire as the tobacco was already written as sold and farmers are still waiting for what is becoming hot air.
“We absolutely don’t know what to do with the farmers. This government has been a joke, a total joke, they bring people who have no single warehouse nor expertise to get into tobacco market. Everything they touch becomes a mess,” lamented an Auctioneer.
East Bridge estates were said by Kawale to have been registered in Malawi to handle logistics only but has turned up to be the actual supplier and manager of all transactions in fertiliser and comical tobacco buying fiasco.
Directors are currently engaged in fighting and getting each other arrested as we will expound in part 2 of these series.
