Head of Seccos Managers Claims Government Yet to Pay for Over 250 Tons of Groundnut

By Buba Gagigo

Yahya Nyagado, Chairperson of the Seccos Managers Association, has told Kerr Fatou that more than 250 tons of groundnuts purchased on credit from five different Seccos remain unpaid by the government.

“We still don’t have the money to pay the farmers. The last payment we received was on January 28, 2025. In Briffu, we bought 36 tons on credit; Demba Kunda, 75 tons; Dingiri, 72 tons; Gambisara, 45 tons; and Mansajang, 41 tons. It’s been over two weeks without any payment,” Nyagado stated.

He criticized the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) for withholding payments, claiming that GGC cited undelivered groundnuts from other Seccos as the reason. “They say other Seccos have money in their Qmoney accounts but haven’t delivered their groundnuts. That’s no excuse. The purpose of Qmoney was to streamline the buying process. GGC should simply withdraw the money from those who didn’t deliver and pay us,” he added.

However, Lamin Fofana, Business Developer at GGC, denied these claims during an interview with King FM on Tuesday.

“Some Seccos have not received payments because they didn’t deliver their groundnuts to our depot. We review each Secco’s records weekly—how much money they received, how much they paid, and how much they delivered. If a Secco delivers less than 75 percent of the groundnuts, we don’t increase their cash flow,” Fofana explained.

When asked whether GGC owes Secco Managers who have already delivered groundnuts, Fofana responded: “I’m not aware of any outstanding payments. We meet weekly with the Secco Managers Association to reconcile groundnut deliveries and corresponding payments, including the Qmoney transfers.”