Colombia’s former Agricultural Minister Andres Felipe Arias will submit a report regarding the benefits of the Agro Ingreso Seguro Program in a government debate to be held on October 27.
The debate, will expose the “failings” of the AIS Program and will aim to stop the current government from only acknowledging the supposed “progress” in the Colombian countryside, reported newspaper El Espectador on Tuesday.
Arias, who is implicated in the ongoing scandal regarding agricultural funds, was not initially invited to the debate. However, spokesman for the Radical Change political party, Jorge Enrique Velez, explained that the presence of the former Minister at the debate on Tuesday is essential, as it was Arias who created the AIS Program.
“The former Minister must answer all questions [regarding AIS] and that is the only way we can know the truth, which is the only thing Colombia wants,” claimed Velez.
The ongoing scandal arose after it was revealed that the former Minister as well as the current Minister for Agriculture had allegedly granted government funds to certain companies and affluent Colombian families, while the money was intended for poor farmers.
Following the debate on October 27, the Radical Change Party will decide whether they support the proposed censure motion against the current Minister for Agriculture Andres Fernandez
