Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) is yet to pay K1.2 billion for the 55 000 metric tonnes (MT) of maize it bought from them three months ago. Admarc acting chief executive officer Felix Jumbe said the parastatal was supposed to buy 35 000MT of maize, but ended up buying 55000 “because people were more willing to sell their maize” according to the acting CEO.

Meanwhile, a national Audit Office (NAO) report has shown that the parastatal has abused resources by failing to provide evidence for purchases amounting to K3 billion, as the report has accused Admarc of the failure to prepare bank reconciliations, non-compliance with procurement procedures, omitting bank accounts in the general ledger, non remittances of pension contributions as well as non remittance of pay as you earn (Paye), fringe benefit tax and withholding tax.

Meanwhile farmers suffer at the mismanagement of resources or posts, Admarc is currently struggling to buy other commodities other than maize. Farmers recently bemoaned the lack of stable markets for cotton, legumes and more. In January this year, during the launch of the Agriculture Commercialisation (Agcom) project, World Bank Country Manager for Malawi, Greg Toulmin, called on the government to act on ensuring Admarc performs its expected functions and reduce market distortions. The call came after the state grain trader reported its struggling; Admarc workers in Mzuzu said time has come for Admarc to reclaim its business