APM declares jet sale illegal

President Peter Mutharika has declared the sale of the presidential jet in 2013 as an illegal transaction which government will investigate and inform Malawians on what happened to the $14 million proceeds.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday following his trip to Malta, United Kingdom and South Africa, Mutharika said he had information that procurement procedures regarding the jet were flouted and there were contradictions on what happened to the proceeds.

In early 2014, the Joyce Banda administration told Malawians that a military equipment supplier, Paramount Group, bid for the plane at $14 million through its subsidiary Bohnox Enterprises and recovered the debt owed by Malawi Government from the transaction.

The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), which facilitated the sale, said at the time it was not aware that Bohnox Enterprises was a subsidiary of Paramount Group.

But government has not come out to say what happened to the proceeds of the sale of the jet, with conflicting details, which Mutharika said he would get to the bottom of.

The President has on one occasion said his administration was in the dark on what happened during and after the sale of the jet even though it has been 18 months since he assumed office and the sale was brokered by government officials.

He said he was told that then minister of Finance Maxwell Mkwezalamba claimed the proceeds were used to buy subsidised fertiliser while other sources claimed the money was used to offset a loan with Paramount Group.

The President also denied that his government plans to buy a presidential jet following reports of hassles he has encountered while travelling on commercial airlines.

Mutharika also lambasted Malawians who said he failed to handle issues in an interview with British Broadcasting Corporation’s Zeinab Badawi which was aired last week.

“There are a group of people who will never find anything good in what I am doing. That is childish and irresponsible thinking,” he said.

On power outages which have increased in propensity, Mutharika said he was aware and explained that Escom was unable to generate 90 megawatts (MW) due to low water levels.

He said as a long term measure to improve power generation, the Kammwamba Coal Fired Power Plant and increased investment in the solar power sector would solve the problems.

On hunger, Mutharika attributed delays in distribution of maize to seasonal markets as the reason for Malawians not being able to access the grain. n