SADC Executive Secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax interacts with SADC Chairperson President Dr Lazarus Chakwera during the summit-Pic by Lisa Kadango

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released an initial expenditure report for Malawi’s hosting of the 41st Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Summit in Lilongwe from 9th to 18th August 2021.

The development comes after President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, a few days ago assured the nation that a financial report on hosting SADC Summit will be issued.

The report released on Saturday showed that the government initially budgeted K4 billion for the summit, but had to trim it to MK2.9 billion.

The statement says the trimming was necessitated by financial constraints.

The government says the money was used to purchase VVIP and VIP vehicles, food and accommodation, hiring of conference facilities, and decorations, among others.

The report further indicates that so far, the Ministry of Finance has provided 1.9 billion kwacha in last year’s and this year’s budgets to pay for the services, and the balance is currently at MK1 billion.

The statement also clarifies that government will pay the remaining invoices once it is funded by the Ministry of Finance.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also said it will provide a final report once all outstanding payments are cleared and transactions audited.-MBC ONLINE

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