Admarc boss Mauwa removed, Jumbe appointed CEO

Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) chief executive officer Margret Roka Mauwa has been removed  from her position and former legislator Felix Jumbe has been appointed as new CEO.

This development comes after Nyasa Times reported about Admarc employees’ demands.

Last week Admarc employees threatened to down tools if government didn’t remove Mauwa and two others for alleged “fragrant abuse of office and mismanagement of resources” .

A letter signed by Chief Secretary to government Lloyd Muhara, says that Mauwa has been seconded to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development.

Jumbe was serving as Admarc board chairperson and government  has since appointed Stain Singo as the new board chairperson for Admarc.

Mauwa has been acting CEO since January 2019 when former CEO Foster Mulumbe was fired in the light of the Maizegate scandal.

The internal audit report, which Nyasa Times has seen, alleges unauthorized and extra draw-downs on loans that internal audit deemed to have been suspicious and reported to the organization’s board.

The report said Admarc signed a loan facility of MK5,000,000,000.00 with Alliance Capital on 16th April in 2016, and out of this  the organization got  MK4,713,000,000.00, which  the organization used  to procure farm produce.

“However, as reported before, there were further draw downs amounting to MK2, 600, 000,000.00 appearing on the Admarc loan schedule that the internal audit deemed suspicious and reported to the Board,” reads  the report in part,  adding  that Admarc books are out of sync by MK2,656,385, 447.00 based on this Alliance Capital account alone.

The report observes that there are other anomalies surrounding the operation of this loan account, one of which is that the total amount drawn in favour of one supplier of maize, Admike Imports & Exports, was MK2, 500, 000,000.00 and yet this supplier only supplied 2,600,440kgs of maize at MK250.00 per kilogram worth MK652, 300,000.00.

To date, the deficit has not been accounted for, and there is no documentation in the finance department at Admarc supporting payments to Admike Imports & Exports. It is not clear who owns Admike Imports and Exports.