SADA to write- off GH¢21.8 million debit of farmers

ruth

June 21, 2016 10:07 AM

In spite of efforts by management of SADA to retrieve the remaining ¢21.8 million, beneficiary farmers have been hesitant in settling their indebtedness to the authority alluding their loss to poor harvest and unfavourable weather condition.

Chief Executive Officer of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) has revealed that it will write-off the GH¢21.8 million loan owed it by farmers within the SADA ecological zone.

Several farmers benefited from the loan in 2013, however, only GH¢998,000, representing 4 percent of the total amount, has so far been recovered so far.

Answering questions before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday June 20, 2016, CEO of SADA Charles Abugre explained that management could not pursue legal action against defaulting farmers after they gave evidence of the destruction of their farms caused by harsh weather conditions and a subsequent poor harvest.

The Committee is also set to probe CEO SADA further over other issues violations including payment without authorisation and unapproved foreign trips by SADA officials captured in the Auditor General’s Report for 2013/2014.

SADA was set up in 2010 as an independent agency for coordinating a development agenda for the northern savannah ecological zone of Ghana: Upper East, Upper West and the Northern Region, and north of Brong-Ahafo and north of the Volta region.

ruth