LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Parliament has on Thursday adopted the Office of The Ombudsman’s report for the maladministration and related irregularities on the purchase and disposal of farm machinery worthy US$ 50 million.
The house has therefore resolved that Parliament be furnished with minutes on the decision made for the sale of the tractors and other mechanization equipment and that further prosecution be followed.
The national assembly went further demanding the full list of those benefited.
The report was adopted after the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP)’s Member of Parliament (MP) for Dedza East, Juliana Lunguzi moved a motion for the members to discuss the issue on private motion with the aim taking to task those responsible in the maladministration of the whole transaction.
MP Lunguzi was seconded by another MCP lawmaker for Dowa West, Kusamba Dzonzi and got overwhelming support from the entire house particularly from opposition benches.
In her contribution Lunguzi solely wanted Parliament to come up with practical resolutions and take to books those behind the sale of the tractor who contravened the initial purpose of the loan which Parliament approved in 2010 under Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India line of credit.
However, Agriculture minister George Chaponda angered some members of the house when he failed to give practical solutions on the matter thereby accusing the former governing People’s Party (PP) of being behind the sale of tractors.
The sentiment did go well with Salima North-West lawmaker Jessie Kabwira who accused Chaponda of always attributing the country’s social-economic ills to the past regimes instead of giving solutions.
In his contribution, Finance Minister Godwall Gondwe assured the house that his office will look into the matter diligently that Parliament will be given an independent view on the issue arguing that some facts in the report were not correct.
Meanwhile, Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) has called for justice over the alleged misappropriation and maladministration and related irregularities on the purchase and disposal of the tractors and shellers bought under Indian line of credit amounting to $50 million.
Briefing journalists in Lilongwe following the trip which FUM undertook to Georgia in USA, in order to appreciate peanut industry, FUM President, Alfred Kapichira Banda, said the tractors which have been shared amongst the rich through dubious tenders were meant for the local farmers.
“As FUM an organization which speaks for the farmers would like to condemn Government for selling the tractors because Parliament authorised the loan from India in order to help ordinary farmers,” Banda said.
Top government civil servants and politicians including Speaker of National Assembly, Richard Msowoya, former vice President Khumbo Kachali, Chief of Staff and operation at State house Peter Mukhito and Foreign Minister Francis Kasaila, MCP MP Rhino Chiphiko are among beneficiaries.
Others are DPP national organisation secretary Richard Makondi, Grey Nyandule Phiri from the Ministry of Agriculture,r Peter Simbani from Finance Ministry, Moffat Chitimbe, Samuel Madula, , Mr Lipita from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ivy Luhanga, Charles Kambauwa, Muli Enterprise and Ben Botolo.
The Maravi Post early this month published exclusively the Office of The Ombudsman’s (OoO) report titled “The Present toiling, the future overburdened”, which gives an account on how the whole deal flopped and became a pray to politicians and civil servants.
The tractors, purchased at R740 000 each, were sold in 2014 for R100 000. The sale raised a paltry MK600-million (R12-million), meaning that the balance of the bank loan for the purchase of the tractors will be repaid by the taxpayers money.
