Gov’t alerts farmers on fraudulent financial scheme
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has urged the public to be vigilant and avoid falling into the trap of the emerging scheme of swindlers present in South Sudan.
The ministry said it has recently learned of the fraudulent activities being perpetrated by some unidentified individuals to solicit money illegally from farmers.
Dr John Ogoto Kanisio, the Undersecretary for Agriculture and Food Security, told the media on Wednesday that the scammers charge their victims certain amounts as registration fees for them to access grants from the ministry.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in the Republic of South Sudan has been made aware of false information being circulated targeting innocent citizens that the ministry has plans to give out money to individuals or cooperative societies to do farming or related agriculture business,” Dr Ogoto said.
He added, “Sometimes those sharing such information may demand fees from prospective awardees.”
Dr Ogoto warned, “The Ministry of Agriculture wishes to warn the public and citizens residing in the states about these fraudulent activities perpetrated purportedly in the name of the ministry and or any of its officials or leadership. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has no involvement in such scheme and cannot accept any responsibility for resulting loss, loss damage or claims.”
This is the first time the ministry and partners are trying to address the country’s devastating food insecurity, exacerbated by the recent flooding and subnational conflict in many parts of South Sudan.
Dr Ogoto said the name of the ministry, either alone or in association with any of its development partners, could be falsely involved to give a scheme the appearance of authority, and that sometimes they use the credentials of the ministry to bolster the credibility of the swindlers.
He said neither the ministry nor the staff had been involved in the scam, pointing out that an investigation has been launched to find those behind such an illegal move in the country.
“Furthermore, donor-supported projects running under the ministry rarely award grants to individuals or groups from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security headquarters,” Dr Ogoto explained. “They usually go to target beneficiaries at state and local government levels through projects contracted to third party implementing agencies such as UN and NGOs.”
He said, the money, when awarded, usually goes to help to pay for the pre-planned project activities that aim to benefit the public or specific groups.
“With these occurrences, we encourage everyone to report any form of communication from such individuals, and verify the authenticity of these messages with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security through the office of the Director-General;l of Admiration and Finance,” he said.
