Bingu blows US$337,000 on foreign trip
As the Malawi economy continues to suffocate due to an acute forex shortage, President Dr Bingu wa Mutharika has drawn US$337,000 for his trip to Italy, Trinidad and Tobago as well as Spain.
The money has been drawn on government accounts at National Bank, cleared through the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Nyasa Times understands.
A source at the Government Treasury has told Nyasa Times that the President has been excessive in drawing such a huge amount especially considering the forex shortage in the country.
“US$337,000 has been drawn by the President to cover the trip and his entrounge and this is unprecedented in such difficult forex shortage times,” said the well-placed source.
Mutharika left the country on Sunday for Rome, Italy to attend the World Food summit organized by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
On departure, President Mutharika disclosed that from Rome, he will proceed to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago for this year’s Commonwealth Summit.
The Commonwealth is a grouping mainly of countries formerly colonized by the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II is the symbolic head of the multi-national organization.
The President left in the new presidential jet which has been purchased at the price of about US$15 million. This transaction, however, is shrouded in secrecy.
Finance Minister Ken Kandodo could not comment on any of these matters, nor would new Secretary to the Treasury, Joseph Mwanamvekha, until recently Chairman of the president’s Mulhako wa Alhomwe ethnic organization.
Which is which of these jets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Falcon
The story sounds incomplete. In my view, and I’m happy to see, Nyasa Times trying to go beyond reporting what news sources say, which is what Modern Journalism is all about, I’m still of the view that you have not portrayed the whole rot that is currently feeding the nation.
I am glad to see the ‘So what’? Element of the news article in the intro but let me give Nyasa Times tomorrow’s work. Take it this way:
If US$337,000 is stashed in just one trip, how many trips does the president make each financial year? How much does he blow each time he travels abroad? How much does he spend in one year? How do you compare that amount with the country’s annual budget of roughly US$2billion? Are the expenses also debated and passed by the national assembly? How many ministries could be financed by the money, stashed through the president’s trips, in the current financial year? What if the money was to be spent in building a new university in the Central Region, enough to accommodate just about 10000 students each year? Wouldn’t that help to settle down the Quota system debate?
Questions could go on and on but since the president is an economist, it will be a grievous mistake if you do not analyse the benefits accrued from the trips? It is true that you can profit nothing if you do not invest in anything. The president may travel to ask for assistance, sell the good image of his country to donors or market the country to prospective investors. If that is the case then, the president is trip trotting for a good cause and let’s then consider the trips as investments. If that is the case however, will Nyasa Times come out and tell us how the investments in the president’s trips correspond with what the country gets in terms of aid and FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] inflows (putting aside what is already granted for us – what our development partners would already give us even if our president never paid them visits)?
I like your comments, well articulated. I think we need such kind of comments.
Iwe Bingu ndalama zonsezo!!! Ukabwera kuno ku Trinidad tidzamwere limodzi, wamva? I’ll take you to Zen ukaone umo tichitira kuno ku Trinidad.
Koma anthu osauka ndiye simukuwaganizira. Ndamva chisoni. US$337,000 (K47 million) is enough to support 300 additional students at UNIMA for the whole year.
PK
Sadly, any sane person would conclude that this government has gone haywire. Bingu is hypocritical, he is also unfairly hogging the national cake; if his intentions on quotarising public resource distribution are indeed civil, let this apply to him too.
Don’t say I did not warn you. Malawians you ain’t seen nothing yet. Half of that cash is going to swiss accounts. What a shame a man who makes so little but live large on tax payers and aid money.
Gentlemen, zinazi tiziwona zolemba, i dont think you can sit down and complain that the president has spent $337,000 on a trip. I think this is too little for a head of state to spent who is visiting like what ….. 3 countries???? Write something constructive. On the jet, one thing i dont understand is that is it personal or does it belong to the state??? Because if it belongs to the state, then i think its high time the president had his own jet so that he doesnt need to charter planes all the times he is travelling which in the long run will be very expensive.
Hiring these planes costs alot of money only that maybe the major problem will be that it has been procured during the shortage of forex which some people must surely be to blame and not the president so way to go Bingu that is being a real economist.
They did not need to buy it as well-if it was so needed they could have leased it and make payments-it’s cheaper that way and we will have disposable money and make payments towards the ownership in say 15 years. Koma no advisors on finance could even tell this dude
We told you that the appointment of an amateur Minister of Finance, putting an MTL person at treasury and another MTL at the Reserve Bank were all strategic to defraud the government. There are many things coming and this is just a start.
Quota system and this behaviour are both SINFUL.
Kudyelela, try being a president and you will appreciate better.
koma zili kumalawi ndi za come and see. its now two days i am on the line waiting to refuel my vehicle and iam hearing that malawi is a bad debtor. kaperekeni ngongole mukuchititsa manyazi. agoodall tapangani m mene munkapangira last term. little by little malawi wayamba kusanduka southern rodesia
Hahahahaha!!! Koma Mlomweyu atiphera dziko lathuli!!! Last term he wont bother this guy, he will do anything and especially with majority in parlianment and all Professor Yes Bwanas!!!!
Its good for us abroad the more the Dollar is scarce the more we will be sending the Green currency and charge higher rates!!! to those who need it! Zafikapa ndipoti aliyense apindurepo basi!
Our wants are unlimited. However, we can’t get everything that we want because of scarce resources.