Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) has disclosed that it is yet to receive money recovered from the botched Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) deal.
Last week, Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda told The Daily Times that the country had recovered the remaining 516,000 Euros (about K635 million) from the failed deal.
An e-mail communication between Chakaka Nyirenda and a Munich-based Senior Public Prosecutor Florian Weizieri indicated that the refund was transferred into SFFRFM’s account and that it was supposed to reflect days later.
The AG indicated that the funds had been deposited into SFFRFM’s account.
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However, SFFRFM Chief Executive Officer Richard Chikunkhuzeni said Wednesday that, as at 3pm, they had not received the money.
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“I am waiting for an update from Ecobank. [I] will update you as soon as possible. At 3pm today [yesterday] refund had not reflected in the account,” Chikunkhuzeni said.
transaction is real
When contacted, Malawi Ambassador to Germany Joseph Mpinganjira said the money was supposed to take three working days to reflect in the country.
There have been calls from some civil society organisations and other quarters for the AG to provide more evidence, saying the email communication was not enough proof of the transaction.
But Mpinganjira was quick to defend the transaction.
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“We have given confirmation that this transaction is real because this is a public prosecutor’s office in Munich and the person involved, Mr Florian, is also a spokesperson for the office.
“But whether the money is in Malawi or not, we do not have that information. SFFRFM is in a better position to comment but money transfer between Malawi and Germany takes about two to three days to reflect,” Mpinganjira said.
Wednesday, Chakaka Nyirenda said he was not sure if the money was in the country.
“You saw the email; it said that the money would days; so, I cannot say the money is in or not,” the AG said, adding that he would not respond to calls to provide more evidence on the issue because he had not heard those calls.
Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale said, in a WhatsApp message, that the AG was in a better position to shed light on the issue.
Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture contracted United Kingdom-based Barkaat Foods Limited to supply fertiliser for the 2022-23 AIP season.
The commodity was valued at K750 million.
The firm failed to supply 25,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, prompting the AG to apply to the Germany-based court to facilitate the repatriation of $543,000 that was frozen in Fidor Bank Ag.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Chairperson Sameer Suleman has said the committee would want to hear more on the issue from ministry officials.
“We will invite officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to explain to us about this. There has been some information blackout on the issue but we will ensure that the truth is known because the money belongs to Malawians,” Suleman said.
His counterpart in the Public Accounts Committee, Mark Botomani, also said they would, in the next three weeks, follow up on the issue.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira said the email communication between the AG and Germany “is less convincing”.
He said the government was supposed to produce bank statements to validate claims of a refund.
