Agriculture minister, secretary probed for alleged K22.7mil misappropriation

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Agriculture minister, secretary probed for alleged K22.7mil misappropriation

PORT MORESBY: Allegations of misappropriation of K22.7 million by the Agriculture and Livestock Department have sparked a police fraud investigation on Agriculture Minister John Simon and his secretary Daniel Kombuk.

Both lodged police reports against each other and the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate director Chief Supt Mathew Damaru said allegations of funds being diverted were being investigated.

The news break was reported by The National:

 

Simon, Kombuk probed

July 7, 2021The NationalMain Stories

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
and PETER ESILA
ALLEGATIONS of misappropriation of about K22.7 million by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) during the political impasse is being investigated, National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate director Chief Supt Mathew Damaru says.
“Both Agriculture Minister John Simon and his secretary Daniel Kombuk have turned against each other and have filed conflicting complaints to us to investigate each other for allegedly diverting funds for Government MPs in the Loloata camp during last November’s political impasse,” Chief Supt Damaru said.

He said the impasse was between Prime Minister James Marape and Opposition Leader Belden Namah and the funds were meant for important agricultural projects.

“So we are now conducting investigation into both conflicting complaints carefully so that we will achieve a transparent outcome and not just a political witch hunt,” he said.

Meanwhile, a DAL officer requesting anonymity said the machine that printed the purported cheques for Government MPs was removed from the DAL office at the Central Government Office in Waigani and taken to a house in a suburb (named) in Port Moresby.
“From there the cheques of various amounts were printed and disbursed to the MPs and companies associated with MPs in the Loloata camp. The K22.7 million was all disbursed on the same day (May 4, 2021),” the officer said.
The officer said fraud squad detectives came to their office at Waigani last week and interviewed them.
Kombuk, however, said no money was missing from the K24 million agriculture price intervention support programme.
He dispelled circulation on social media about misallocation of the K22.7 million of public funds during the political impasse.
Kombuk explained that the K22.7 million was dispersed from the K24 million support programme.
He said the K22.7 million was dispersed to genuine farmers of different commodities in different provinces.
The secretary said a price support and intervention team was set up purposely to identify farmers and were then recommended to the office of the secretary for price support.
“I want to tell the people of PNG, that I am giving the money to true farmers, not paper farmers,” Kombuk said.
“I did not give the money on my own, all the recommendation comes from my team, I am in Port Moresby, but they are in Hela, Enga, Western Highlands, Chimbu, Jiwaka, in Eastern Highlands, Momase, and NGI, they make recommendation and I go by it, we have nothing to hide.”
Kombuk said it would take time to assess the impact of the K24 million to farmers throughout the country.
“Money went to all the projects, the project will take six months to 12 months to be developed, these are rural farmers.
“How can you disperse the funds last month and this month and you want the report, it doesn’t work like that, we have to let the programme run and after six months, we disperse the price support and intervention team.”