CSPR reports cooperative leaders to ACC for investigation

Maxson Nkhoma – CSPR Eastern Provincial Coordinator

The Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) is disturbed to learn of the serious cases of abuse of office by most cooperative leaders involved in the distribution of farming inputs in Eastern province.

CSPR Eastern Province Coordinator Maxson Nkhoma says his organization has learnt with shock that some cooperative leaders in districts where the e-voucher input distribution program was piloted last year took peculiar advantage of their positions to collect cards from their members to collect farming inputs from agro dealers which inputs did not match with the money government had deposited in the e-voucher cards of the affected farmers.

Mr. Nkhoma has cited Chipata, Katete and Petauke as some of the districts where such abuse has been reported.

He says Chipata is leading in cases of abuse of office cases by cooperative leaders.

Mr. Nkhoma has since disclosed that his organization has reported a number of cooperatives to the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) for investigation.