We lost out on Jet deal—Committee

The Defence and Security Committee of Parliament has said government must accept reality that it has lost out on the presidential jet deal that the Peter Mutharika administration said was illegal and worth investigating.

Despite promising to act on the deal 18 months after assuming power and with only few months before the country goes to the polls,  the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has not closed the chapter on how the Joyce Banda administration handled the sale of the $22 million (about K16 billion at current rate)  jet.

Speaking, in an interview on Wednesday, chairperson of the committee that pushed for the probe, Charles Tikhiwa, claims it is now clear that government was duped.

“It’s clear proper procedures on the sale of the jet were not followed. We understand Malawi Defence Force (MDF) was not aware about the deal; Cabinet was simply informed when it was actually supposed to approve the transaction, and everything seems was done in suspicious manner.

“The issues that the presidential jet was battered off were made known way too long and after government was pressured to provide answers on how much the jet was sold,” Tikhiwa said.

He said the issues are beyond his committee, but what they expected from the Executive was to probe the matter as they had promised and get to the bottom of it.

“There is no sign whatsoever that government is interested to pursue the matter. I don’t understand what the problem is because it’s obvious that government officials who were involved in the transaction can easily be traced to provide all the necessary information,” he said.

Secretary to Treasury (ST) Ben Botolo admitted, in an interview on Wednesday, that nothing has progressed on the matter, but hinted it is an important and outstanding matter that needed to be pursued, concluded and taken out from the limelight.

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Reyneck Matemba said, in an interview on Friday, that the bureau has also not received any complaint relating to the matter.

Botolo said: “It’s an important matter to pursue, but at the same time we don’t want to be seen like we are witch-hunting.”

The ST said while reports indicated the jet was battered off, there was need for a thorough investigation, to find out how the deal was conducted and where the proceeds went.

“But you must also appreciate that this thing [an idea to probe] started during the time of my predecessor. I need to consult other authorities before I proceed. It has taken a long time yes, but it is a thing that must be done.”

Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe told our sister newspaper, The Nation, on June 25 2014 that government wanted to establish the truth about the disposal of the French-made jet to Bohnox Enterprises Limited, a subsidiary of Paramount Group, a South African-based defence and military equipment supplier.

But more than four years down the line, nothing has happened, and when contacted on Wednesday, to find out what was happening on the matter and the promise he made about the probe, Gondwe said the ST was better placed to comment.

Just like its purchase by the administration of the former president late Bingu wa Mutharika, the sale of the jet attracted controversy as it later transpired that it was “battered off” to offset a $19 million debt owed to Paramount Group.

President Mutharika, following his trip to Malta, United Kingdom and South Africa, told journalists in Lilongwe that 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.

President Mutharika said at one moment he learnt that the 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.

At the time the Mutharika administration indicated to probe the matter, it cancelled other contacts worth $145 million (K58 billion then), which the Joyce Banda administration had signed with Paramount Group, which included fuel, agriculture and arms supplies.

The Mutharika admistration considered such contracts “expensive and illegal”.

Malawi Watch executive director Billy Banda said, in an interview, Malawians deserved to know what happened to the proceeds of the jet sale, imploring on Mutharika administration to live up to its promise to probe the matter.

He argued that the matter has taken too long, fearing that further delays may make government fail to get to the bottom of the matter as the likelihood of losing documentation and some officers that were on the top of the deal were high.

“The money involved is huge and this is a serious matter. Government owes Malawians an explanation. If there are people that messed up or got involved in some dubious transactions, they must be made to account for that,” Banda said. n