The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday renewed its call for an independent investigation into the financing of President Irfaan Ali’s Long Creek agricultural development, arguing that explanations offered so far have failed to account for what it described as the scale of the investment.
In a statement, the party said the public had expected the President to provide detailed information that would dispel concerns surrounding the financing of the project.
Instead, it noted, references to loans obtained for the venture were insufficient to explain the development of what it described as a multi-billion-dollar farm.
According to the AFC, records show that in July 2012 an application was approved for a $30 million credit facility to establish a poultry farm on 25 acres of leased land. It added that a further $18 million in working capital was approved in March 2015, bringing the total financing to $48 million.
The party contended that those loans “fall dramatically short” of explaining the level of investment now evident at the property.
“If the loan reportedly obtained in 2023 was not in excess of $1.5 billion, then the attempt to use the earlier $48 million in financing as justification for the development of the mega farm is nothing more than a distraction from the central issue: the source and scale of the funding behind the project,” the AFC said.
It maintained that the explanations provided by the President and his supporters had failed to adequately account for the financing of the venture.
“Transparency and accountability demand that the public be given a full and credible explanation,” the party added.
The AFC again called for “a comprehensive and independent investigation into the financing of the President’s mega farm so that all questions surrounding the project can be thoroughly examined and answered.”
The controversy over the Long Creek farm intensified after Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed questioned the size and value of the development, estimating that it occupied about 150 acres and represented an investment of more than $2.2 billion.
President Ali has rejected those claims, saying the property comprises between 60 and 70 acres, that it was acquired before he assumed the presidency and that the development was financed through loans from the banking system. He has also said the farm and his liabilities have been declared to the Integrity Commission and denied using his office for personal benefit or engaging in any conflict of interest.
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