LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The former Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor Dr Dalitso Kabambe is answering cooked-political motivated charges that will be difficult to be proven as they have been committed to the High Court for further proceedings.
Kabambe, who is also UTM President, Henry Mathanga, Leonard Kandoje, Leston Mulli, Joseph Khupe, Felton Mulli, and Justin Fredson Likhunya were arrested in 2021 in connection to loans granted to private companies among them Mulli Brothers Limited.
The move, the state argues, was against the RBM Act which prohibits lending to private entities or individuals.
The loans amounting to about US$5 billion have yet to be re-paid according to the state.
Here are demerits of the charges leveled against him in the court of the law by the State….
1.The issue about letter of credit: this is a debt issue. There is nothing criminal in this case. the RBM has been opening letters of credit to suppliers of strategic commodities like fertilizer and fuel.
This has been happening for a long time as far back as from 2012.
In this case there are some suppliers who did not pay on the letters of credit opened for them.
RBM actually sued these suppliers in commercial case number 47 of 2021 which is at the commercial court in Blantyre.
If this was a criminal case then RBM could not have commenced a commercial case to recover their money at all.
This is why the debt issue for those companies that did not pay RBM must pay back the money. It has nothing to Do with Dr Kabambe at all.
The RBM also opened letters of credit for SFFRFM: SFFRFM paid back and they are not part of this trial. If the opening of the letters of credit was criminal per se then SFFRFM should have been here as well.
But as you can see SFFRFM is not here. A clear indication this is an issue about a debt not a criminal case at all.
2. COVID-9 funds case: in 2019 the RBM donated MK6.2 Billion to government to help in the fight against covid. When this money was donated RBM did not direct how the money was going to be used. It was solely up to the government to decide.
The board of the Reserve Bank that time comprised very prominent and respectable people professionally like late Pius Mulipa, Late Martin Phangaphanga, Late Aleksadr Kalanda, Dr Grant Kabambo, cliff Chiunda and Mrs Maria Msiska.
When you read their statements they make it clear they approved this donation because of the need to help people who were suffering and dying of covid.
The money did not go into any account of the board members but into the government account.
This donation was made in good faith and it assisted a lot of Malawians. There is therefore nothing criminal about this donation at all.
3. On the forex swap and treasury note programme, there was an agreement between RBM and Afrexim Bank.
Afrexim Bank is a prominent Bank in Africa specifically set up help Africa countries manage their debts. It is an institution of very high integrity.
FDH Bank was chosen by Afrexim bank as a local agent for Afrexim bank. Being an agent they had to be paid for their services and there was therefore a tripartite agreement between Afrexim Bank, RBM and FDH Bank.
It is therefore nonsensical to argue that RBM made arbitrary payments to FDH Bank when the payments were for services rendered by FDH Bank as a local agent for Afrexim Bank.
There was an audit that was conducted by Delloitte. The statement of Nasser Adam of Delloite east Africa does not at any point say that Dr Kabambe received in cash or through any deposits or any transfers in any of his bank accounts all the money that are being alleged in this case.
It is yet to been seen how the state is going prosecute the matter which has no basses but political motive!!