Qatar's funds to buy liberated areas' wheat revealed opposition greed

Translation by Yusra Ahmed

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Qatari initiative to support and assist the Syrian farmers by offering $15 million to the National Coalition to facilitate buying the Syrian wheat, unveil the greediness and irresponsibility toward the farmers and many workers with the Coalition. 

As soon as the $15 million arrived from Qatar to the National Coalition, plans started to get changed, even institutional changes took place. The National Coalition assigned the task to the Assistant Coordination Unit (ACU) instead of the Grain Corporation, the body responsible for trading grains, moreover, a brand new institution is going to be formed to manage the matter, while 50 employees of the Grain Corporation are at risk of losing their jobs.

Sources in the opposition’s grain Corporation confirmed that they had before bought a quantity of 36 thousand tons of dry and wet Wheat from farmers in Aleppo –Idlib, daraa and Homs during 2014-2015 season, despite the weak fund. Moreover, the corporation brought an amount of 12,500 tons of wheat for bread to Aleppo, Idlib and Daraa funded by the credit wallet.

However, the lack of fund and fruitless efforts of the Grain Corporation to generate support and money from the countries known as "Friends of the Syrian People” forced the corporation to stop its activities in regard grain in August.

After two consecutive years of true and honest dealing with farmers, they trusted the Grain Foundation in time most bodies wanted to use their crisis and suffering. The Corporation then thought of an integrated project to sell the wheat of 2015 season to Qatar via the National Coalition and the head of the Interim Government.

Sources warned of delays in the purchase of wheat from farmers before the seasonal rainfall which might damaged the wheat, or farmers might smuggle the harvest to neighboring countries, or selling it to the Syrian regime, which raised the price to attract farmers from the liberated areas and deprive rebels from benefiting of the harvest..

News was circulated about preparation to establish a new Grain Corporation and sack all workers and employees in the old one, has complicated the situation.

Some argue that dismantle the old Grain Corporation and leaving its workers without support in difficult time, besides founding a new corporation, might deplete and use all the money paid for the grain.

The grain corporation planned to buy 50 thousand tons of wheat of the current season from the liberated areas, and sent a request to the Interim Ministry of Finance dated 04/08/2015, however, no response for that and nothing was brought.

The Corporation has pledged to respond to all inquiries in regard to details about mechanisms of implementing the project, controlling the records, and ongoing supervision for good implementation.

The corporation explained that the proposed quantity to sell does not cover the whole wheat produced in the liberated areas, but only part of it, and it only covers 10% of people’s needs on those areas. It explained that fund is needed for the corporation to be able to buy grain of season 2015 from farmers estimated of 474855 tons.

Sources in the interim government confirmed to Zaman al-Wasl that the Qatari government has sent the amount needed to finance the project, but the point was that money was sent to the ACU. The Grain Corporation communicated with ACU, but the reply was that the corporation was not the meant body to deal with the matter.

The source concluded that the project will be implemented by purchasing the wheat by the grain corporations within the local councils in the provinces, with allocating 20% for seeds multiplication, 40% for strategic storage and 40% for flour milling.

However, an official source in the Grain Corporation confirmed to Zaman al-Wasl that they were ready to cooperate with the Assistance Coordination Unit, pointing out that a letter was sent to the President of the National Coalition in this regard.

He pointed out that the Coalition punishes the Grain Corporation because of their connection to the government. Even others expressed that if the ACU accepted to cooperate with the grain corporation, should be appreciated, despite the Unit’s job is not implementing projects, it’s job is to coordinate support only.