The joint parliamentary committee investigating the botched K750 million fertiliser deal on Fridy failed to interview Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba amid suspicions that some of its members are bent on frustrating the inquiry.

The committee’s co–chairperson Sameer Suleman told journalists that there is now politics at play as some members refused to have Zamba questioned, instead, they suggested that former SPC Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi be summoned.

Zamba (L) and her team leave Parliament on Friday

Zamba availed herself with her team but was sent back following the resolution.

Earlier the committee also failed to interview Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Wilson Banda and officials from Ecobank, after some of its members also raised reservations.

According to Suleman, the members voted on a motion on whether to interview Zamba or not, and those against won.

He said: “You know it’s a game of numbers and those who were against the idea were many. As chairperson, I am concerned because these developments are now diluting the whole committee. Of course, politics is at play. We saw the same happened with RBM governor who was already here and Ecobank officials. This is a house of politics.”

Suleman said it was baffling because the issues under investigation happened on the watch of SPC and wondered why she was apparently being ‘protected’.

Malawi Government paid K750 million to UK-based Barkaat Foods Limited as advance payment for a fertiliser deal of 25 000 metric tonnes (MT). However, the company later failed to deliver and cancelled the deal, a move that irked President President Lazarus Chakwera, who last week fired minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe and his deputy Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima for purportedly failing to provide leadership.

Lowe told the committee on Thursday that when officials from Ministry of Agriculture moved to buy fertiliser from manufacturers, they ended up fighting with cartels.

Government’s directive for this year’s Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) was for the ministry to buy fertiliser directly from manufacturers.

He said: “When ministry officials went to Egypt to check fertiliser, the companies in Egypt already had information about fertiliser prices in Malawi and they were offering it at $1 150 to $1 300 per tonne. The cartels  were influencing prices.”

On Tuesday, Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) board chairperson Marjorie Maluwa Phiri told the joint committee that the SFFRFM board was not comfortable with the fertiliser deal.

SFFRFM chief executive officer Richard Chikunkhuzeni also said he had doubts about the prices but the ministry was excited.

Secretary to the Treasury McDonald Mafuta-Mwale on Thursday told the joint committee that Treasury was not part of the procurement or payment.

He said: “The role of Treasury was only to provide funding to the ministry after it asked for money.”

However, Mafuta-Mwale conceded to have slept on the job as he was not part of the board meeting that discussed procurement of fertiliser.

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