Reportedly Owing Farmers over D14 Million
By Assan Bah
Foroyaa has received information of credit buying in some seccos in the Lower and Upper Niumi Districts in the North Bank Region (NBR) and are reportedly owing farmers over fourteen million Dalasi (D14,000,000).
Speaking to secco managers in Medina Sering Mass, Bafuloto, Chilla Jurunku, and Kerr Biran all confirmed credit buying in their respective seccos.
They all confirmed having already delivered the 75% of their purchases to the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) depots.
Mr Jully Ndaw, a committee member from the Medina Sering Mass CPMS, said: “It has been a month since we last received money [a supply].”
He, however, said: “We have a debt of nearly ten million dalasi. We were not even sent money during their last allocations or disbursement. We were having a relatively huge debt and we were informed that, we will be supplied money, but it is still not sent. They even called me yesterday to say that they send us money today, but there is still nothing.”
According to him, despite having debts, they are still taking farmers’ groundnuts on credit. “Farmers are coming here every day asking for their money, but we cannot do anything about it because authorities keep on promising us that they will send us money, but farmers are still bringing their groundnut because they would not be able to keep them at their homes.”
The secco manager of the Bafuloto CPMS, Seedy Njie, said: “We received money only two times since the commencement of the trade season. We were not sent or supplied money during the last disbursement because we were still reconciling our purchase at the depot. As of today, we have delivered 100 tonnes to the depot.”
He said they are currently buying on credit, stating that: “We cannot continue sending farmers home. I currently have a debt equivalent to about 20 to 25 tonnes worth of nuts.”
Mamud Njie, the secco manager of Chilla Jurunku, said: “What we have on credit buying is about 58 tonnes four hundred and forty-three kilos that will be two million four hundred and twenty thousand eight hundred and thirty four dalasi worth of nuts. I have today stopped the credit buying because what I have here is huge. We have delivered over 200 tonnes.
The secco manager of Kerr Biran CPMS said: “We exhausted our money about a week ago. We were expecting them to supply us money yesterday, but there is still no money despite delivering all our purchases to the depot.”
Sulayman Jammeh from the same CPMS, said, they were last sent money about ten days ago for about 50 tonnes. “We received money only three times. Money for 50 tonnes worth of nuts on each of the supplies, but we currently have a credit buying of about forty tonnes. The last time we were sent money was around 10 days ago,” adding that: “They have not been picking our calls for the past four days and they [ASPA] were even here for inspection.
Meanwhile, Lamin Sanyang, the Deputy Managing Director of the GGC, said, they are currently doing their final reconciliation and promised to supply farmers money as soon as the process is completed.
On some claims of not supplying money to some seccos for over a month, he claimed not to be aware of such but said: “We are reviewing the activities of some seccos.
“Every secco will be supplied with money. Any secco that was previously skipped, it was because we were trying to reconcile what their purchases are. We cannot give out money like that,” he stressed.
DMD Sayang, however, emphasised that all secco managers were warned not to buy on credit. “All secco managers were warned not to buy nuts on credit. If they buy on credit, they should not say that there is no money because we give them the flouts according to the 75% delivered in our depots. We cannot give anyone money without the 75% not delivered to our depots.”
