By Mercy Matonga:
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has justified the Cashgate era investigation it conducted into military supplier Shiraz Ferreira, alleging in court documents that the businessman received billions of Kwacha from the military beyond the contract sum.
On November 4 2021, Fereira, of SF International, sued the State, demanding about $6,942,359.49 (about K11.8 billion at the current exchange rate) for delayed payments for items he reportedly supplied.
This includes equipment supplied to the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) between 2012 and 2014.
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But, in a statement provided to the court in defence of the matter, and signed by ACB senior investigator Flattery Nkhata, the graft-busting body says the contract in question was full of irregularities and was previously investigated for possible fraud when investigations were being conducted into Cashgate— the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill.
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Among the alleged fraudulent irregularities, the ACB claims that the businessman was paid for some of the contracts in advance and in some cases charged MDF twice, claiming that the same items were supplied from two different contracts.
ACB further claims that some items were delivered without a valid contract, further claiming that the contractor overcharged MDF for vehicles that were very old.
Nkhata says, in the affidavit, that a contract for the supply of vehicles to MDF was among seven contracts that ACB investigated at MDF in the wake of Cashgate.
“An analysis of the invoice under the contract signed on 17th December 2012, whose value was $30,000,000.00, revealed that some of the materials that the claimant was supposed to supply to MDF are the same on the contracts signed on 26th November 2012 whose value amounted to MK9, 868,450,000.00,” the statement reads.
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ACB says investigations into SF International’s contract, dated November 26 2012 and worth $30,000,000, did not proceed “on account that MDF officials disowned it”.
The bureau further says some of the items were supplied despite the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority refusing to grant permission for the contract to proceed.
It further indicates that before SF International delivered on its December 2021 contract, it was paid a sum of K100,000,000 by government in advance.
On overcharging of the items, ACB says SF International sold each military Puma vehicle to MDF at K207,000,000 after declaring the value of the same vehicle to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) at K94,747,840.
“By January 2014, the claimant had delivered a total of MK2,747,950,000 worth of vehicles and equipment to the MDF under the contract dated 26th November 2012. However, by the 13th July 2013, the MDF paid the claimant a total of MK3.55 billion towards the same contract. It must be emphasised that there are no documents to show that the contract was extended after the expiry on 26th November 2013,” the sworn statement reads.
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda’s office is disputing the claim, which has an additional legal collection cost and cost of the action pegged at MK208,270.78.
The matter will be heard by Judge Chifundo Kachale of the Commercial Division of the High Court in his chambers on Monday, when lawyers for Ferreira want the challenge by the AG to be dismissed.
Among other things, the State has raised six legal questions to Ferreira’s claim, including that the matter is statute barred.
