Mulli ordered to refund K138,600,000 on maize pesticides contract
The office of the Director of Public Procurement has ordered tycoon Leston Mulli of Mulli Brothers (MBL Holdings Limited) to reimburse MK138,600,000.00 to Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for the of 140 metric tonnes of Maize Storage Pesticides which was awarded to his company.
According to a letter sent to Mulli by Director of Public Procurement, Dye Mawindo, copied to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Anti Corruption Bureau and obtained by Nyasa Times, the contract was awarded to Mulli by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security during the crop season 2010/11.
Mawindo said in the letter that his office received a complaint from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in relation to the quality of the product which Mulli supplied under the said contract.
“We have been duly informed by the procuring entity that after proper chemical analysis by the Pesticides Control Board, it has been found that the product which your company supplied does not contain the right concentrations of its active ingredients,” Mawindo said in the letter.
“ We have further been informed that Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security requested your company to reimburse the contract price amounting to MK138,600,000.00 and to collect and send back the product to the manufacturer for proper disposal,” he added.
“In this regard, we kindly request your company to respond to the issues raised in this letter within 14 days from the date of this letter failing which our office will be compelled to commence a debarment hearing against your company under section 20 of the Public Procurement Act unless you show reasonable cause why such hearing should not be commenced,” the e letter dated July 16 reads.
MBL Holdings Limited chairperson and group chief executive officer Leston Mulli on Monday said he was not aware of the order.
Fertiliser
The development comes after Ministry of Agriculture has cancelled tenders for the supply of subsidised fertiliser for the upcoming farming season.
Nyasa Times understands the cancellation has been made due to serious anomalies and high level corruption in the way the contracts were awarded.
Many companies who were awarded the contracts , were ineffective but were still favoured due to their close connection with the previous ruling DPP of former president, late Bingu wa Mutharika
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Jeff Luhanga, said the tenders will be re-advertised.
