Mwanamvekha issues rebuttal on Mulli’s loan deal with Malawi govt: ‘Am not involved’

Former governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson on finance Joseph Mwanamvekha has dismissed as  callous propaganda linking him to have approved Mulli Brothers’ loan which the company acquired from Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) where he once served as the bank’s chief executive officer.

Through the social media, some people are trying to align Mwanamvekha with the said loan agreement, which purportedly allowed Mulli to repay the loan over a period of 167 years, adding that Mwanamvekha was the CEO for the bank when the alleged deal was being signed.

Mulli Brothers Limited acquired K4.9 billion loan from  MSB during the Bingu wa Mutharika regime when Mulli Brothers owner Leston Mulli was a close ally of Bingu and later on with Peter Mutharika.

Mwanamvekha, the former Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development under Peter Mutharika, has categorically denied any role in such a loan deal.

“I left Malawi Savings Bank in 2009, and was succeeded by Kayisi Sadala who was himself removed from the bank in 2012 by former president Joyce Banda. Kayisi was replaced by Ian Bonongwe, and it was under Bonongwe when the bank was sold  by Privatisation Commission and at that time I was Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism,” explained Mwanamvekha.

Mwanamvekha said if indeed the purported  loan repayment deal exists,  then he is not aware of it and he was never a signatory.

“If anyone is interested to know the truth, one may contact the Ministry of Finance or indeed Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) for details,” he said.

The political temperature is fast rising in DPP over who should succeed Mutharika as president of  the party.  Mwanamvekha is one of the candidates who have expressed interest to contest for the position at the party’s forthcoming convention, but recently there has been a tendency by various factions within the party to throw mud at each other’s candidacy in order to gain unfair advantage.

Mwanamvekha with an impeccable, political and academic record has been town hall meetings for several weeks now targeting every district.

Newspaper columnist Ephraim Munthali commented that tith these meetings, Mwanamvekha is achieving three things: “First, he is demonstrating that he is a leader who wants to govern from the bottom-up by getting what the grassroots people—through their representatives—want in their communities. In that way, he is also projecting himself as a consensus builder.

“Second, he is transmitting this message by targeting all districts: he wants DPP to be a national party and that each district deserves special attention.

“Third, and perhaps most importantly, Mwanamvekha is introducing himself to DPP grassroots structures that are crucial to rebuilding the party and deciding who its next leader should be.”

According to the columnist, Mwanamvekha has understood, very early, that “flamboyance only excites a gullible few, but a coherent strategy that is backed by a strong ground game gives you the real goods.”