Zanu PF youth leader accused of defrauding ARDA fe...

Zanu PF youth leader accused of defrauding ARDA fertilizer scheme

Zim Now Writer

A prominent Zanu PF youth leader, Shepherd Marime, has been charged with defrauding the Agricultural Rural Development Agency (ARDA) in a government fertilizer loan scheme.

Marime, a Central Committee member and National Youth League secretary for education, allegedly manipulated the program to obtain extra supplies.

The 31-year-old Karoi resident appeared before Chinhoyi Magistrate Archie Wochiunga facing a fraud charge.

The court heard that the government launched a program through the Ministry of Agriculture to provide farming inputs to eligible farmers for the 2023/24 season. This initiative aimed to increase crop yields and ensure food security in anticipation of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Agritex officers were tasked with verifying eligible farmers and compiling a list of beneficiaries. After signing contracts, ARDA would provide a list to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) for distributing inputs like fertilizer and chemicals.

Prosecutors allege that Marime, contracted by ARDA to grow maize on a 50-hectare plot at Wingate farm, received 20 metric tonnes of fertilizer and crop chemicals from GMB Karoi in January. However, investigators believe he did not cultivate any crops at Wingate.

Marime reportedly claimed to have grown crops at Moyale farm, another Karoi property. Based on this false claim, he received an additional 17.08 metric tonnes of fertilizer from GMB Karoi in January.

Authorities believe Marime intended to further exploit the system. After receiving his allocation from GMB Karoi, he allegedly used the same documents to collect another 12 metric tonnes of fertilizer from a separate GMB depot at Mt Hampden in February.