HARARE – Loans made to Zimbabwe by the FAO to help poor farmers, worth as much as dlrs 8 million, are being syphoned off by corrupt government ministers and traders with the alleged complicity of the director of an FAO office in the African country who allegedly has ordered a halt to monitoring field activities funded by loans, according to whistleblowers among the Zimbabwe Credit Bank Field Inspection Staff.

“The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is concerned with delivering aid to poor farmers in the field from donor funds and applies strict mechanisms of monitoring and follow-up, but we were surprised to be informed by our manager in the bank that the Director of the FAO office, Bahari, gave instructions not to monitor field activities in lending to farmers,” said Tapiwa Tafadaz, a representative of the bank field inspection staff.

 “During visits to some farms, farmers told us that FAO loans are given to ministers and traders,” Tafadaz said in a statement sent to the FAO Director General Qu Dongyu, that was seen by the Italian Insider.

“The UN policy sets a strict standard for monitoring to ensure that aid is delivered to the poor, but the FAO office in Bahari changed the policy and began to cancel the follow-up and investigation process from our government side and from the office staff with the aim of transferring agricultural loans to the pockets of senior officials and the director of the FAO office in Bahari and his senior employees in the project,” the statement continued.

“We were prevented from practicing supervision and follow-up work.”

“The auditor's report was changed from high risk to give loans to ministers to completely erased in a step that opens the doors to corruption and money laundering through the organization's office in Zimbabwe.”

“We ask you to intervene to help the junior employees of the Agricultural Bank to carry out our field work and help small farmers and poor families.”

“Attached is a copy of the limited inspection report that showed the collection of payments to government officials and ministers. The report was changed after pressure from the director of the FAO office to erase these discoveries.”

“Instead of helping us to eliminate corruption, the organization has become a protector of corruption and supports the procedures of not conducting inspections and field visits, and this has harmed our travel and field work.”

“FAO Zimbabwe broke UN principles for independence, protection of poor farmers, transparency, and upholding UN values,” Tafadaz claimed.

“Please help us and help farmers,” the statement said.

“FAO Head office slogan protect the poor farmer. FAO Regional Office in Harare slogan protect rich and cover up the fraud.”

 According to attached files, some dlrs 20,000 were syphoned off as a loan to the Zimbabwean local government minister July Moyo, a veteran ZANU political operator who was under Western sanctions during the Mugabe regime whose enemies have accused him of using witchcraft to eliminate adversaries. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

 jf