LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-An investigation that The Maravi Post carried few days ago to dig into what is happening with Sattar’s contracts which everyone knows were frozen has revealed that the Government (MDF) has not signed any fresh contract with Sattar or any of his companies as alleged by social media.

Contrary to what was being reported at the time of this publication, it had also been established that the US$4.9 million that MDF asked the Government to release, had not been paid to IAG- the manufacturer of the procured Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) vehicles.

Briefing members of the Civil society under the banner of the National Advocacy Platform, The Minister of Defence Mkandawire expressed disappointment at misinformation and disinformation being perpetrated through the reports and the documents circulating on social media.

Accompanied by the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Erica Maganga and Chief of Legal Services for the Malawi Defence Force, Colonel Mitawa, the Minister reiterated the need for all Malawians to be patriotic and avoid sharing confidential information critical for the country’s security.

The Minister emphasised that the Chakwera-led Government is committed to the fight against corruption and that is why he allowed to meet the members of the National Advocacy Platform on short notice.

When contacted, the Ministry confirmed meeting the CSOs and stated that the facts were laid bare to the CSOs.

Commenting on the meeting, PS for Defence Erica Maganga stated ‘We cleared the misinformation and shared them all necessary documents which show that there is no new contract with Sattar, but that Government is fulfilling its obligations under the terminated Contract’.

Asked as to why the Government would be paying for a Contract that was terminated, Maganga clarified that the Contracts were terminated under Section 46 of the PPDA Act which allows the Government to terminate a Contract based on public convenience.

However, the Sections stipulate that when a Contract is terminated for public convenience, the procuring entity is under an obligation to pay for any goods supplied, or goods produced or goods which were under production at the time of termination.

She continued that when the Contract was terminated, it was discovered that the APCS had already been produced as such, the Government is under a legal obligation to pay.

“That is why we initiated the payments,” says Maganga.

Commenting on the development, some renowned legal analysts stated that if it is indeed true that the Contract was terminated for public convenience under Section 46 of the PDDA Act, then Government has no option but to honour payment for the goods that had already been produced.

However, they cautioned the Government to ensure that such payments are done transparently to avoid abuse and corruption.

Investigations by Nyasatimes have revealed that the US$4.9 million payment being sought by MDF is 20% of what should have been paid upfront when the contract was signed with Malachite.

It has also been established that the Malawi Government had not paid this upfront payment including undertaking a pre-shipment exercise due to finances and later the matters that are in court.

We have further learnt that it was further that the 20% requisitioned amount is not being paid to Sattar’s Malachite company but direct to the supplier thereby leaving Sattar out of the equation.

Briefing the Media after the interface with the Minister, Benedicto Kondowe and Charles Kajoloweka who were leaders of the delegation for the CSOs and the organiser of the interface meeting respectively advised the press that indeed they have been told that there is no new contract with Sattar and that the payments are for goods that were already produced.

However, they expressed dissatisfaction with the presentation by the government due to several factors citing the non-involvement of ACB in the payment process and called upon ACB to investigate the matter.

Kondowe then proceeded to lay out NAPS’s position which he stated that they remain stuck to their position for Reserve Bank not to proceed with the payment until all matters surrounding the deal are cleared by government,

‘Our position remains that the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) must not proceed with honouring the payment until the Government comes in the open with clear evidence that their dealings are in line with the law and in respect of the earlier order made by the Attorney general against dealing with Sattar,’ stated Kondowe.

On Gregory Gondwe and Mercy Matoga, the Government and MDF assured the CSOs that they should not worry anything about the two.

There is no order to intimidate or persecute Gondwe as we believe in Media freedom and the rule of law.

However, they confirmed that investigations are underway to identify individuals who leaked and published some restricted documents, and once found, the law will take its course.

The government and MDF affirmed that they would not use force or intimidation to get the details and that at the time of the meeting, there had been no order or instruction made to summon the two.

Other leaders from the CSOs who attended the meeting included Willy Kambwandira of CSO Accountability and Governance Platform, Robert Mkwezalamba of HRCC, Slyvester Namiwa of CDEDI, Bonface Chibwana of CCJP and Buxton Nkhoma of Citizen Alliance.

When contacted to shed more light on the matter, Mkwezalamba referred our reporter to Benedicto Kondowe who could not pick up our calls when we went to press.

Ironically, it transpired that the CSOs had not shared the plain truth as collected from the Ministry which would have cleared the public and citizenry as regards the facts of the matter.

It remains unclear as to why the CSO leaders deliberately kept some information from the media which is central to the public outcry but chose to only present their side of the story and not balance the outcomes of the meeting.