Lawyer asks MPs to stay away from Malawi Savings Bank sale

One of the private practice lawyers in Malawi, Wapona Kita has asked parliament not to interfere in the plans by the executive arm of government to sell the state-owned Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) saying government erred by consulting the parliament on the matter.

Kita told a local radio that government was not supposed to consult parliament on the matter as it has no mandate of enforcing a law but just to make it.

“In the first place the executive was  not supposed to consult parliament on the sale of Malawi Savings Bank but now that they have realized that it made a mistake, they can go ahead and sell the bank,” he said.

Kita said the parliamentarians should act within their constitutional powers of making laws saying in this case the duty to enforce the law lies in the executive arm of government through the ministry of finance and all those working under him.

However, Kita has faulted the government for failing to manage the proposed sale of the state owned Malawi Savings Bank using the existing laws accusing it of adopting a process he says is creating confusion and emotions.

Kita said government could have just used its executive powers granted by the laws created by the legislators to implement the deal.

The Malawi Central Bank recently said in a report that the MSB was weighed down by bad loans revealing that the bank also needs some K24bn in capital and liquidity by June.

Government says selling off the bank would strengthen its financial and operational capabilities in the ever competitively growing commercial environment.

But parliament argued that the importance of the bank to rural communities in Malawi outweighs the economic argument and justification for its sale.

Parliament is therefore pushing for the suspension of sale of the bank to allow broader consultations with members of the general public.

A statement signed by the Acting Clerk of Parliament Roosevelt Gondwe says parliament seeks to solicit the views to help shape the deliberations of the matter during the next sitting.

And ironically, only FDH Bank Limited expressed interest to buy the stake.

But parliamentary committees for Legal Affairs and Budget and Finance have announced plans to seek legal redress in courts over the matter.

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