March 2025 is getting closer. All stakeholders who participated in this trade season will have to take stock and invite the media to explain the challenges and achievements of an entirely new method of purchasing groundnuts.
The seccos have to go through reforms with the registration of cooperative producer marketing societies by the registrar general of the Department of Cooperative Development. A rule-based system was established which prohibits any buying activity without a CPMS and its registered officers. This is done to ensure accountability and prevent the types of losses experienced during the last trade season. QMoney was initially introduced with the idea of ensuring cash does not go to the secco presidents but to their Qwallet which can only be withdrawn if farmers are issued with slips registered in their mobile phones that are shown to the QMoney agents to receive their cash.
Challenges were consistently and constantly highlighted by Foroyaa so that the GGC, the registrar general of cooperatives and the coordinator and liaison of FACS and the QMoney authorities could quickly identify challenges and provide remedies should they be in a position to do so. Overall more than 800 million dalasi is learnt to have been disbursed for the purchase of groundnuts during this trade season. Buying is still taking place and farmers and secco presidents are still identifying their challenges whenever they arise.
The stakeholders should not consider such reports as adverse to their performance. They should see them as warning signals to provide remedies to challenges that may ultimately undermine their performance.
Service providers should always consider transparent oversight to be an asset in promoting efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. This is the incontrovertible truth that should be appreciated by all those who want to render satisfactory service.
