Diligently handle Linturi probe and fertiliser scam

What had been billed as an innovative initiative by the government to boost food and cash crop production, the fertiliser subsidy programme is turning out to be a most intriguing development.

As various agencies investigate possible looting by the officials involved, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is facing impeachment by the National Assembly over the handling of the fertiliser subsidy programme. Meanwhile, investigators are looking into the suspected looting of billions abetted by officials and suppliers.

A special audit of 55 fertiliser depots in 17 counties is investigating the spending of Sh7.5 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. The programme, which was meant to supply affordable fertiliser to farmers, has over the years turned into a cash cow for merchants and their accomplices. Indeed, after President William Ruto announced the fertiliser subsidy early in his administration following the August 2022 elections, the price of a 50kg bag dropped by half from Sh6,500.

The harvests of the first crops planted with the fertiliser were impressive and the initiative touted as a success.

Then crooks wormed in with budgets bursting, and billions of shillings tapped to line their pockets. It is commendable that some top officials are being held to account.

The Auditor-General has often exposed apparent collusion between State officials and suppliers to inflate imported fertiliser prices and divert revenue from sales by the National Cereals and Produce Board.

As CS Linturi fights the bid to remove him, it is important that the 11-member select committee moves quickly to get to the bottom of this saga. This is a test of the maturity of our parliamentary democracy. Hopefully, the matter will be handled in a non-partisan matter that prioritises the truth over party affiliation and other interests.

We owe this to a sector accounting for 20 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.