By Cathy Maulidi:
The K780 billion ‘Sheikh Ahmed Al-Qassimi’ fertiliser deal is stuck in a maze, with officials failing to provide clear answers about its status.
This comes just a month after officials touted it as a legitimate agreement, claiming the Sheikh wanted to help the struggling Malawi.
When reports emerged disputing the Sheikh’s authenticity, the government system went to town with a statement which it claimed came from the ‘Sheikh’ of United Arab Emirates.
The statement was published in The Daily Times and circulated on social media.
- Advertisement -
In the deal, purportedly from the Office of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Al-Qassimi, Malawi wants to buy 600,000 tonnes of fertiliser (300,000 tonnes Urea: 300,000 tonnes NPK) with a 100 percent upfront payment.
In a letter to Secretary for Agriculture, Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) Chief Executive Officer Richard Chikunkhuzeni said one of the conditions is the upfront payment of 100 percent cash into a Standard Bank account in Malawi for each consignment of 25, 000 metric tonnes which translates to around K32.5 billion per consignment.
The K32.5 billion on each consignment of 25, 000 metric tonnes would translate K780 billion for the 600,000 metric tonnes.
“SFFRFM does not currently have the financial capacity to handle these huge cash cover requirements. SFFRFM is therefore appealing to Government to provide the financial support as part of the re-capitalisation of the organisation so that it can handle the business and achieve its mandate to the Malawi economy,” reads the letter.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
The deal raised suspicions and questions on why this Sheikh wanted such huge advance payment before delivery.
Following the events surrounding the deal, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture sought information on the status of the deal from Chikunkhuzeni who referred the matter to the Ministry of Agriculture.
“We sent our letter to Secretary for Agriculture for review and direction. Then, depending on the response, management would present it to the Board for its review and resolution depending on what will come out and we haven’t received a response.
“Our letter was based on the MOU between Government and His Highness Office in Dubai,” Chikunkhuzeni said
When the Committee, through its member Jappie Mhango, sought an explanation from Secretary for Agriculture responsible for technical services Medrina Mloza Banda, she evaded the question.
And when we tried to get an interview with her after the meeting, Mloza Banda refused to grant us an interview.
Our further efforts to have the ministry respond to our questions have also proved futile as officials in the ministry have kept pushing the matter to each other.
Secretary to President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba signed the deal on behalf of the Malawi Government.
We contacted her office through the spokesperson Robert Kalindiza. We asked him about the status of the deal. He responded, “I have no idea.”
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT) has said the lack of transparency and non- committal by senior government officials to provide information regarding the status of the deal confirms that this was not a legitimate deal.
“Why is it that no one wants to own the deal when Malawians were told that this is a legit business?
“It is our demand that those involved should account for this deal, and Parliament should rise above the occasion demanding accountability on this,” Csat Executive Director, Willy Kambwandira, said.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Sameer Suleman said the committee plans to summon the Minister of Agriculture himself to appear before the committee and explain the matters.
“Based on the testimony of officials who appeared before our committee, it’s clear that even the SFFRFM’s chief lacks control over the situation.
“As a committee, we have the authority to summon the minister to provide clarity on the matter, and that’s exactly what we plan to do. We’ll be extending our meeting schedule to accommodate the minister’s appearance, as Malawians are fed up with being taken advantage of through these questionable fertiliser deals.” Suleman said.
