Press Trust seeks legal opinion on Chikaonda successor

Press Trust has sought legal opinion on its powers in the hiring of conglomerate Press Corporation Limited (PCL) board and successor group chief executive officer Matthews Chikaonda.

Chikaonda is set to retire at the dual-listed conglomerate on December 31 this year after 14 years.

There have been  press reports that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led government is scheming to snatch Press Corporation Limited (PCL) away from other shareholders by imposing DPP gurus on PCL and Press Trust Boards .

PCL spokesperson Chisomo Macholowe said the Press Trust does no own PCL and that “government cannot call a stakeholders meeting as it claimed in its statement.”

Meanwhile, Press Trust is seeking legal opinion from Chisanga and Tomoka legal firm on its mandate in the conglomerate, listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a global depository receipt is regarded as one of the largest holding companies in Malawi and has interests in financial services, telecommunications, food and beverages, energy and consumer goods.

This follows Minister of Information Jappie Mhango saying government is calling for an urgent shareholders meeting to assess the extent of the mismanagement at PCL and start taking remedial measures.

Chikaonda’s GCEO position was advertised by KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory firm.

KPMG said PCL; a highly diversified company has stakes in several subsidiary companies, joint ventures and associated companies.