Bushiri taps Chihana’s corporate governance knowledge at SBI
South Africa-based Malawian businessperson and prophet Shepherd Bushiri has disclosed that he is working with Alliance for Democracy (Aford) president Enock Chihana as his aide at his investment firm.
Bushiri, popularly known as Major 1, trades under Shepherd Bushiri Investments (SBI) with a portfolio ranging from financial services, hospitality, aviation, mining and telecommunications and technology.
He boasts that his investments are in Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and South Sudan with planned expansion to the Middle East.
Speaking on Times Exclusive television interview on Saturday evening, Bushiri told host Brian Banda that Chihana is now based in Pretoria working for SBI.
“I think you know Enock Chihana. He is working with me, supporting me at SBI. He is not actively doing politics in Malawi as of now.
“He is here in South Africa. He is one of the people helping me in international relations when I am doing business with other countries. He has a background of governance. So he helps me on that,” said Bushiri.
Bushiri, who is also president of Shepherd Bushiri Foundation (SBF), said he engaged Chihana to liaise with authorities in Malawi to allow him intervene on the maize crisis but the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) officials were not forthcoming.
Major 1 started selling maize at a reduced price of K5 000 for a 50 kg bag as one way of helping starving Malawians to access the staple which, on normal markets, is going at K300 per kilogramme.
The prophet said he made an offer last year to Admarc to help them improve their stock and it wasn’t taken up. He said he had to step in to ease the vulnerability band so that even the poor of the poorest can get something.
Asked where he is sourcing the maize and how much it costs on his initiative , Bushiri said he may not have exact figures, pointing out that he does not see his food security initiative in terms of its costs but as a service, something that brings contentment in his heart, saying helping is his calling.
According to SBI profile, Bushiri acquired a hotel in Rustenburg, South Africa and has since acquired three 5-star hotels in the United States of America and a 5-star hotel in Dubai.
SBI also owns a television channel, Rainbow TV, in Malawi apart from Prophetic Channel which broadcasts across Africa.
Bushiri claims to have created a $50 million (about K36.7 billion) real estate portfolio held in the company’s subsidiaries.
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