Consortium demands Malawi jet probe outcome

Civil Society Youth Consortium (CSYC), a grouping of 300 youths organisations in the country has asked President Peter Mutharika government to explain to the nation the outcome of the investigations into a sale of the presidential jet by former President Joyce Banda .

Government said it launched the probe last year to establish the truth about the disposal of French-made jet to Bohnox Enterprises Limited, a subsidiary of Paramount Group, a South Africa-based defence and military equipment supplier and how the proceeds from the sale were used.

The sale of the jet, whose purchase by the administration of former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika was also littered with controversies, raised a number of questions in the way it was sold and as to how the money was used.

The then PP Government initially gave conflicting explanations on the sale of the jet, including how the State had used the proceeds of the jet–prompting some donors such as the United Kingdom, opposition parties and civil society organisations (CSOs) to demand an investigation into the sale.

It however later transpired that the jet was “battered off” to offset a $19 million debt owed to Paramount Group.

The previous administration then further claimed it was not aware that Bohnox was part of the Paramount Group.

The  public demanded justice and accountability on the sale of the jet.

CSYC National chair John Thawe and Publicity Secretary Kenneth Mtago, said in a statement made available to Nyasa Times: “We demand that all those who were part and parcel of the deal in 2013 to be held accountable and brought to state sanctioned legal apparatus for explanation.”

The youth network has also demanded that the donor community, which pushed for the sale of the jet, should help the current government to attain a swift probe into how the proceeds were used.

“We understand some of the stakeholders in that deal are multinational corporations, as such the donor’s intervention with foreign governments will facilitate production of relevant documents and information of what really happened.”

The network says failing to address the two demands within 30 days the network will mobilise the youths and concerned  Malawians in general to stage anti government demonstrations

“We demand that all our requests to government should be addressed within 30 days from publication of this statement failing which we will mobilize the youth across the country to initiate a citizens’ arrest to everyone who was part and parcel of the decision-making and the actual sale of the jet in 2013,” reads the statement in part.

The grouping says Malawians should always demand accountability at any stage of state affairs.

The Dassault Falcon 900EX jet bought in 2009 cost Malawi almost $22m, a move that angered western donors who claimed that the jet was partly bought using donor funds aimed at uplifting the impoverished citizenry.