Of Public Goods And Accountability

 Debate is raging on the issue of items that the National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef), now called Malawi Enterprise Development Fund, intends to sell. Apparently, the items include farm inputs, which Neef officials say are deteriorating by the day.

However, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (Pac) has problems with the plan to dispose of the inputs.

When Pac members and Neef officials engaged on the issue yesterday, the parliamentarians felt that auctioning the inputs would lead to loss of funds as the inputs would be sold at a cheaper price.

The lawmakers say, in the case of an auction, some people may connive to buy the items at giveaway prices, thereby depriving farmers and the general public of an opportunity to get farm input loans and other items.

The committee has since announced that it will summon Ministry of Finance and Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority officials to map the way forward on the issue.

However, Neef officials fear that if the condition of the items continues to deteriorate, they may struggle to pay suppliers of the inputs.

We would like to say both sides have points that warrant consideration.

However, we have questions that require answers. For instance, when were the items bought by Neef for them to deteriorate “so soon”? Was the process that led to the purchase of the items transparent? Why did Neef miss the deadline to loan out the items to intended recipients?

Answering these questions will be key to avoiding similar problems in the future.

Otherwise, we feel that government ministries, departments and agencies should be planning for the long term. Planning for the long term means buying items that take long to expire.

That way, public resources will not be going to waste needlessly.