Govt goofs on K260m PR deal with US firm

• Cancels it, but after paying K120m
• We were unsatisfied —Gondwe

Government signed a contract with a US based firm to prop up the image of the country and that of President Peter Mutharika, but has since cancelled the contract after paying $150 000 (K120 million), Nation on Sunday can reveal.

Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe confirmed in an interview on Wednesday that the contract worth $30 000 (about K23 million) a month has been cancelled after paying $150 000 because government was not satisfied with the work.

The 12-month contract with the US-based education policy organisation, Nelson Mullins, has been a secret thus far with no Parliament scrutiny, but Gondwe says there was no need for the deal to be made public.

Said Gondwe: “We employed them as most governments do. They eventually wanted us to be supplying more materials, which we deemed expensive and [we] cancelled the contract after a few months. They gave us a $120 000 invoice, which we paid. You have to ask the Foreign Affairs Ministry if there were any fruits, but I did not see much of what we were benefiting, that is why we closed it,” said Gondwe.

Quizzed whether the cancellation of the contract means government had not conducted any due diligence, Gondwe, who signed the contract on behalf of the Mutharika administration, said: “Government cannot always govern in public.” State House director of communication Bright Molande refused to comment on the justification for hiring the US firm, saying the presidency was just a beneficiary of the deal.

“The challenge is we want every issue to be responded to by the President. That is not how government works. The State House was not responsible for the contract,” said Molande.

Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale said he could “neither confirm nor deny” knowledge about the contract, but said he was not part of the drafting of the contract. The AG also said he has not received any complaint or lawsuit in relation to the contract.

According to details of the contract signed in 2015 between government and the US-based firm, Nelson Mullins, among others, was contracted to introduce the President “throughout the Halls of Congress to the Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen that are most important to influencing policies favourable to Malawi; work to create a positive image for Malawi with the United States Government from both the Legislative and Executive branches; and also strive to help the donor community understand President Mutharika.

The firm was also going to aid Mutharika’s image in his anti-corruption crusade; helping him put his vision of establishing community and technical colleges around the country as well as developing a strong educational system starting at the primary level; exploring areas in which trade export can be increased and security.

The firm also set to seek to bring back to Malawi donor and US assistance, and ensure that Malawi’s borders are secure in view of oil exploration taking place on Lake Malawi.

“The issues of security of Malawi’s borders are paramount. The issue with Tanzania is a growing concern. Now that oil has been found under Lake Malawi, Tanzania wants to challenge the border placement. Nelson Mullins will make this point to the appropriate people within the Administration and on Capitol Hill while seeking US help in securing the Malawi borders,” reads part of the contract. “Nelson Mullins will monitor national and international stories concerning the reputation and perception of Malawi. Additionally, we will push out the positive stories to various agencies to strategically create a perception that shows Malawi is changing and can become an example that the rest of Africa can follow. Malawi will be seen as a leader in change, progressive and transparent with the new President’s leadership,” further reads the contract.

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) national coordinator Martin Chiphwanya said the secrecy behind the deal defeats the principle of accountability that government officials are responsible to the citizenry for their decisions and actions.

“The authorities have not been transparent on this matter and this runs counter to principles of good governance. In a democratic dispensation, government is supposed to be accountable to citizens for decisions taken at all levels. It really raises a lot of questions if at all due diligence assessment was undertaken in this case. Authorities owe the nation an explanation as to why the deal was cancelled a few months after being agreed upon.

“Financial leakages e m a n a t i n g f r o m unnecessary payouts due to breach of contract are a clear manifestation of poor administrative action. It would be appropriate that necessary measures be taken on those that may have contributed to the situation our country finds itself in. In any case, this is taxpayers’ money and we need to jealously safeguard the public purse by demanding answers from authorities on issues of this nature.

“It is disheartening to note that cases of this nature continue to hit headlines. Our ailing economy cannot absorb such unnecessary payments. There is need for proper scrutiny of all contracts that government enters into with other entities before putting pen to paper to avoid being caught up in situations like these,” said Chiphwanya.

Former President Joyce Banda also hired a foreign public relations firm, Bell Pottinger, something that raised eyebrows after it transpired through newspaper revelations that an arms supplier with contracts with government was footing the bill on her behalf.