By Claver Nyuki
The Ferts Seed and Grain PVT Ltd (FSG) has released a statement disputing social media rumours that it is a Funeral Service company with no ties to the Agricultural sector.
The claims follow the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts which accused Government of having paid USD$400 million to a former funeral services company called FSG to provide fertilizer under the Command Agriculture program on 26 August 2019.
NewZimbabwe.com also made the allegations on its Twitter handle saying, “Ministry of Finance paid over USD$400 million to a company called FCG on the pretext that it supplies fertilizers for Command Agric but they don't know where this company is, they don't know who owns this company, they don't know where it is located, FCG did not even go to tender.”
Addressing the concerns were made viral on social media, FSG admitted that the Ministry of Finance officials present at the portfolio committee meeting may not be aware of the company as they did not deal directly with his particular department.
“It is indeed possible that the representative from the Ministry of Finance does not know FSG as we have never dealt directly with his department,” the statement reads.
The company further introduces itself, declaring that FSG stands for Fert Seed and Grain PVT Ltd which manufactures and supply fertilizer branded SuperFert fertilizer and not Funeral Service Group (FSG)
“FSG is an abbreviation for Ferts Seed and Grain PVT Ltd, a Zimbabwean company which manufactures and supply fertilizer. In particular we want to set the record straight that we do not have any ties or affiliation to Funeral Services Group Zimbabwe (FSG) also known as FSG.
“We are the manufacturers of a well-known fertilizer brand called SuperFert fertilizer and supplies around 50% of the Zimbabwe fertiliser market.”
The statement further reveals that FSG is based in Bindura and produces up to 1 000 metric tonnes of fertilizer per day with its factory recently being showcased to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture.
FSG is also part of a larger regional group called Meridian Group which has similar fertilizer operations in Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.
On the issue of having received money intended for Command Agriculture without following due process of going to tender, FSG refuted the claims and revealed that they had never been contacted by command agriculture or received money from them.
On the issue of payments, FSG declared that all the transactions they have done with Government have been paid in RTGS and Government treasury bills.
The malicious rumors claiming that Government made a payment to a funeral service company for Command Agriculture programmes are false and are spearheaded by opposition elements in pursuit of tarnishing Government through the Ministry of Finance.
