A section of farmers who supplied maize to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in 2018 have appealed to the government to fasttrack their payments.
The farmers lament that despite delivering their produce to NCPB, they ended up being branded traders, and to date they have never been paid.
Led by Paul Marus Soibei, they insist they are genuine farmers, and that the government unfairly targeted them.
“We supplied maize to NCPB but we were later arrested, our produce sold and we have receipts but no payments have ever been made to us to date,” Soibei said in Eldoret town, Thursday.
“Our appeal is that the government facilitates our payments,” he added.
In 2018, in what is now referred to as Ksh1.9 billion maize scandal hit the NCPB. It is alleged that some traders masqueraded as farmers and supplied maize that they had imported from neighboring countries at a low price and ended up being paid higher price by NCPB.
The scam in which the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) was investigating saw several senior NCPB and Ministry of Agriculture officials arrested and charged.
However, a section of genuine farmers were also caught up in the probe, with the investigative agencies claiming they were traders.
Unpaid loans
Some were arrested and grilled by EACC detectives.
Following the probe, payment to some of the farmers that had supplied their maize was never processed.
The matter is still active in court, but the Uasin Gishu farmers linked to the scam want their pay released.
According to Soibei, delays in their pay had forced them into huge loans from banks and Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC).
“We humbly appeal that we get paid our money. We have loans in banks and AFC that we used for the 2019 and 2020 planting season,” said the prominent farmer.
