Saturday, March 15, 2025
الرئيسية بلوق الصفحة 127

ACB COMING UP WITH A LIST OF BLACK-LISTED PERSONS: Wahid Kassam, Farook Gani, Dipak top list

FAROOK GANI: Crooked fella

The Anti-Corruption Bureau will next week come up with a list of black listed Malawians of Asian origin and there after all their property shall be seized for good.

Topping the list is Wahid Kassam of Manobec who has issues with the tax collectors MRA for his companies and Sun Seed being the main source of tax scam. Wahid is pushing the blame to his cousin Nazim Kassman and partner Ataf of transNabila and AS Investment.


As of now Wahid is at the ACB headquarters together with his managers answering a number of questions.  Already, Sun Seed Oil limited is being advertised amongst the Asians in their community and his son Wasim is now operating at Cross Road where manobec is housed.

Another culprit who has milked the national treasury is Farook Gani of Victoria hotels who has used the Malawi Defence Force as a cash cow. He also milked the Central Medical Store Trust with used and recycled synergies and allied materials. This time there is a case of Fraud and Fiscal Police just completed its investigations and has  since forwarded the file to ACB.  

Gani had been under supplying of goods which was food stuff and meals. He used to give tiny portions and poorly cooked to the Malawi Defence Force units and Barracks while the training college was the main victim of his evil deeds. All that has been documented through pictures taken by soldiers who were unhappy and forwarded the same to ACB for action.

Last week Farook Gani was interviewed by both the fiscal Police and ACB. Some of the issues were hinging on tax of goods bought into the country without paying the determined value.

In this case Farook Gani has mentioned Ms Roza Mbilizi as a silent business partner.  He was quick to bring in the name of Norman Chisale and the former first lady Gertrude Mutharika.

ACB has also been investigating Dipak Jevant of Sealand Investment Limited for getting paid for services and goods not rendered at ministry of Agriculture and Health. 

Dipak used to front three companies and all get the contracts to supply fertiliser for the subsidy project and documented delivery notes and other papers which made it real.

At the end Norman Chisale would come to get millions for the president then.  Fiscal Police have found all this and more than seven people are ready to testify against him in a court of law.

ACB has also zeroed in on Rafik Gaffer for his issue of getting contracts at the Ministry of lands under his company Solid Construction Limited by passing the tendering process as stipulated under the PPDA act.

Once these merchants are under the spotlight the fight against corruption will be a great success. Wahid is planning to bribe the Investigating officer has since pleaded to have their numbers.

TOBACCO MARKETING SEASON TO OPEN MARCH END: To open earlier for the economic benefit of the growers

The Tobacco Commission (TC) says this year’s Tobacco Marketing Season will open on Thursday, the 31st of March, which is earlier than previous years.

The Commission made the announcement through a media statement issued on Wednesday saying the marketing season will open earlier this year for the ‘economic benefit of the growers’.

“The 2022 Tobacco Marketing season will open on 31 March, starting with Lilongwe Floors followed by the opening of Limbe floors on 5th April,” reads the statement issued by the commission’s public relations officer Telephorus Chigwenembe.

According to the statement, dates for opening of Chinkhoma and Mzuzu will be announced in the second week of April.

Tobacco deliveries at Lilongwe and Limbe will start on 21st of March, the statement has stated.

Tobacco also known as the ‘green gold’ has for years been a mainstay of the rural economy and the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner in the country.

The Tobacco Commission is a statutory corporation mandated to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco in Malawi. The corporation’s mission is to provide regulatory services inorder to promote compliant tobacco production and marketing systems in a transparent and environmentally friendly manner using modern technologies.

NBM plc supports MLS indaba with K2 million

Mitole (right) presents a dummy cheque to Mbeko

National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has supported the Malawi Law Society (MLS) Annual general Meeting (AGM) and conference with K2 million.

MLS is scheduled to hold their AGM and conference in Mangochi from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 March 2022 whose theme is ‘Law, Sustainable Development and the African Single Market: Towards the African Agenda 2063 and Malawi Vision 2063’.

Speaking in Blantyre during the cheque presentation, NBM plc Legal Counsel and Company Secretary Zunzo Mitole said being a law-abiding bank, NBM plc decided to support the lawyers conference and AGM.

“When we looked at this theme, as the ‘Bank of the Nation’, we thought we should come in and support this AGM and conference because we believe that for all the plans that the African continent and indeed our own country has made, the law should take its course. We are now talking of the Malawi 2063 goals; we cannot achieve these if there are no laws or if the law is not respected hence our support to this conference.”

NBM Plc Zunzo Mitole (right) presents the cheque to Mbeko

“NBM plc, as the Bank of the Nation, prides itself in being the bank that respects the rule of law and champions a better life for Malawians through various products and services that we offer and also the numerous corporate social events that we give out to the community. As a Bank we do all this so that come 2063, we should achieve our goals and aspirations of making Africa and Malawi a better place for everyone,” said Mitole.

MLS Chief Executive Officer Mzati Mbeko thanked NBM plc for the support saying it will go a long way in making the AGM and conference a success.

“We are delighted to receive this cheque from NBM plc and we are thankful for this gesture from The Bank of the Nation. We all appreciate that the economy is bad in all sectors and to get financial support of K2 million is a wonderful gesture. We do not take this for granted. NBM is a trusted partner and we cherish this partnership that we have,” said Mbeko.

CDEDI protests govt intention to award Bangula-Marka Railway Rehab Project to China Railway 20 Bureau Limited

The letter has been received at ACB as per stamp

Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has protested the intention by the Government of Malawi to award China Railway 20 Bureau Limited (CR20) a contract to rehabilitate Bangula-Marka Railway line.

CDEDI has since written the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jacob Hara, to consider withdrawing the authorization letter to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) in order to allow for adequate soul-searching before settling for a company to do the rehabilitation of the much-awaited railway line rehabilitation project.

CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa draws Hara’s attention to Section 53 subsection 2 (f) of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act of 2017, which, among others, cites past performance as one of the criteria in deciding to award a contract to a contractor. It is an open secret that Malawians are dissatisfied with the quality of works CR20 is implementing on the Nsanje-Marka road project.

The letter has been received at the Ministry of Transport and Public Works

Namiwa emphasizes that while CDEDI is delighted that government is keen at ensuring that it revives the Sena corridor that will connect Malawi to Mozambique through the 44 Kilometre Bangula-Nsanje railway line, there is a need for due diligence to ensure that Malawians get the quality service possible.

“It does not need emphasis that good road network, the railway line inclusive, is a catalyst of socio-economic development for any nation. In fact, the road sector has a myriad of multiplier effects that trickle down to all and sundry. It is also worth pointing out right here that we, at CDEDI, do not have any problem with any contractor as long as they deliver to the expectation of the citizens and in line with what is contained in their contractual agreements with the Government of Malawi, on one hand, and that due diligence was done, on the other hand, to ensure that the nation realises a high standard project that guarantees value for the hard-earned taxpayers’ money before awarding the contract,” reads part of the letter.

This letter has been received at PPDA

The letter also calls upon the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, and the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Martha Chizuma to equally take action on the matter.

Namiwa adds that the appointment of Hara to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works raised people’s hopes that soon or later sanity will prevail in this critical sector, and that millions envisioned the raising of the bar in as far as the standards of our public infrastructure is concerned.

He therefore challenged Hara to personally take interest in inspecting the Nsanje-Marka Road, which is being washed away even before CR20 completed the construction work.

“Apart from the grass root voices in Nsanje district, professional bodies such as those for engineers have raised a red flag on the quality of the said project. In a normal situation, therefore, none expected such a contractor to be rewarded, but rather be reprimanded, and if it were in other countries that are serious with issues of standards and professionalism, this company would have been sent packing! Hence this letter is copied to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the Ministry of Finance, and the PPDA, for their information, deep reflection, and action. Refer to the newspaper articles marked Appendix 1, 2 and online links marked Appendix 3,4,5,6 and 7, to appreciate the basis of our action to write you Hon. Minister,” he wrote.

“CDEDI is meanwhile, challenging you Hon. Minister to travel to Nsanje to appreciate the kind of works done by this company before making any decision. If indeed your interest Hon. Minister is to serve Malawians without impunity and arrogance, and if indeed there are no personal and selfish interests attached to this decision, then you should consider cancelling this process immediately, for the good of your own legacy,” thus Namiwa concluded his epistle to Hara.

The Ministry of Finance has also received the letter

Mlaka Speaks Out On ECG Exit

By Andrew Magombo

Lilongwe, March 14, Mana: Veteran music artist-cum-preacher, Mlaka Maliro has broken silence over his resignation as a Pastor of Enlighten Christian Gathering (ECG) which was founded by embattled Prophet, Shepherd Bushiri.

In an interview with a local radio station on Monday, he cited family reasons as the motive behind his unprecedented return from Eswatini where was deployed for the last five years.

Maliro said: “I have been on the move on gospel missions in different countries hence affecting academic studies of my children as they have to transfer schools, adapt to syllabus and learn different foreign languages regularly.”

“We have secured them boarding schools and I happy to reunite with my family because I was feeling a void in fulfilling by duties at the expense of my wife and kids back in Malawi which was not easy,”

When asked to clarify on his exit from the ECG, the Dzanja La lemba star said initially his wife resigned from the church six months ago and he is following suit for the sake of his family.

He said “When my wife left the church, it was hard because that turned us into family with different beliefs for we could no longer do some things together so I duly submitted my resignation letter. ”

When contacted by Malawi News Agency (Mana) to comment on the resignations, ECG’s Spokesperson, Ephraim Nyondo refused to comment on the matter as he demanded to be furnished with the letters first.

During the radio interview, Maliro shed light on his latest single The Wine is Over (Vinyo Watha) which has dominated airwaves and social media platforms in the course opening multifaceted interpretations.

Maliro, who emerged from Lucius Banda’s Zembani Band in the 90s, said the song is addressing various sociopolitical issues including religion and leadership.

He said: “Nowadays multitudes are blindly following churches because of miracles and they are falling prey without being aware that they are being led by fake preachers with no spiritual substance.”

“In the song, I am also talking about leaders who are arrogant and refute constructive criticism when the wine is over as things are not going in the right direction.”

On Saturday the former ECG Pastor riled more debate with his cryptic post on Facebook as some suggested a fall out between him and Bushiri while others sympathized with him.

 He wrote: “After all has been said and done, Mlaka is a pastor and will remain a pastor serving one true God of Heaven,I’ve just stepped down from one organization ‘CHURCH’, ”

Maldeco, MUST sign MoU

Santhe and Malata at the signing ceremony

The Foods Company Limited (TFCL) trading as Maldeco Fisheries has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malawi University of Science of Technology (MUST) for skills transfer and work experience synergies.

Speaking during the signing ceremony on Friday at MUST Campus in Thyolo, Maldeco General Manager Andrew Santhe said they turned to MUST to provide innovative and practical solutions to some operation efficiencies they face.

“I remember that MUST team visited Maldeco to familiarize with the various challenges we face which included issues to do with very long manual Sales processes, manual order taking from customers, inability to monitor remote operations like vessel fishing activities on the lake and security at the aquaculture cage operations on the lake, just to mention a few.”

“A team of IT students was sent a few days after who started to work on a sales processing solution. I am pleased to mention that a solution has already been identified by this team which is being used by the Maldeco Sales team in processing sales orders and despatches, a process which was taking us 4 to 5 hours to finalize is now taking 45 minutes,” said Santhe.

Santhe (right) and Malata signs the MoU

He said this is proof of the practical solutions that MUST is able to provide to address real challenges being faced in the industry.

“The Foods Company Limited look forward to the development of more solutions with your good University to assist further improve the operational efficiencies of the company and hence enhance its profitability and the signing of this MOU is only the beginning of this fruitful journey we envision to travel together in bringing Maldeco back to its glorious days. And this is for the benefit of both our institutions,” added Santhe.

MUST Vice Chancellor Professor Address Malata hailed the signing of the MoU saying partnerships with external stakeholders offers a win-win situation to both parties.

“As academics, we mostly look at the skills and knowledge discovery but these are not an end in themselves. We need the industry to embrace the skills and knowledge for them to improve their value chain processes and systems for efficiency. On the other hand, the industry has knowledge of what is working out there and if we do not work together, we will be producing graduates with skills and knowledge that do not meet the needs of industry,” said Malata.

Santhe (right) and Malata display the signed MoU

She observed that to contribute towards the realisation of the industrialisation pillar in the MW2063, Maldeco needs to analyse and assess its various systems and processes to identify areas that need improvement or upgrade for more efficiency that will result in more fish yields or supplies.

“This is where we are coming in. The few students we have sent out there, whether as interns or graduates, have earned praise for being innovative in identifying weak points in organisational production systems and processes where they have proposed and implemented innovative solutions. With this in mind, let me assure Maldeco that they could not have identified a better partner than MUST. We have a culture of technological innovation and entrepreneurship in whatever we do,” said Malata.

Group photograph of Maldeco and MUST officials

STANDARD BANK LAUNCHES SME GROWTH HUB, PHUKA

MADINGA: The hubs will also help SMEs build resilience against external shocks

Standard Bank Plc has launched of an entrepreneurs’ incubation hub—dubbed Phuka—which aims to support small and medium businesses to grow through access to markets, training and capital.

Chief Executive Phillip Madinga said Monday at the launch of the hub in Lilongwe that it reaffirms the bank’s commitment to support and harness small and medium business as a source of sustainable economic growth in Malawi.

The hubs will also help SMEs build resilience against external shocks.

“The SME sector is the source of growth as it offers the entry point to any meaningful income-generating activity at the higher levels of any country’s economic structure. The sector accounts for the majority of businesses in Malawi and are important contributors to job creation and national economic development,” said Madinga.

He said the Phuka initiative, which will be housed by Synergy in Area 12 aims to address the challenges that hinder success of the SME sector.

Justice Zione Ntaba, chairperson of Synergy which has partnered Std Bank to launch Phuka

“Our goal is to create a conducive environment for this sector by imparting world-class knowledge, mentorship and experiences that will propel local SMEs to greater heights in line with our core purpose which is “Malawi is our Home, we Drive her Growth”, he added.

The platform is beneficial to SMEs as it will provide them with access to finance, markets, and refine their business skills.

“Apart from access to finance and markets for SMEs, Phuka program will equip them with business modelling, marketing, and negotiating, among many other skills. Furthermore, the hub will initiate advisory services and mentorship programs to propel the vibrancy of the sector,” he said.

The Chief Executive reaffirmed the Banks commitment towards supporting innovation and the country’s economic development.

Phuka will be hosted by Synergy, an enterprise development consultancy firm.

Towera Jalakasi, brains behind Khathi Khathi Juice which is booming with loans from Standard Bank

Synergy Chairperson Zione Ntaba who is also a judge of the High Court said the business incubation model will help provide validation of the potential of SMEs to grow and contribute to the Malawi 2063 vision.

“The Phuka business incubator is designed to ensure that a funnel for deal flow is drawn from an existing feeder channel which is the Standard Bank’s enterprise development unit,” she said.

One of the beneficiaries of Standard Bank’s loans Towera Jalakasi applauded Standard Bank for introducing Phuka saying the initiative would go a long way to inject growth for SMEs.

She said as an SME, Standard Bank has helped her Khathi Khathi brand of Baobab fruit juice to grow and scale new heights. “Finance from Standard Bank boosted our distribution function. We are now able to penetrate markets in Southern and Northern Malawi, and soon we will take delivery of a new processing machine from China which will give us the same competitiveness as other international juices we see on the shelves like Ceres,” she said.

According to Madinga, 73 percent of SMEs who have a turnover of around K6 million have the potential to contribute up to 40 percent of Malawi’s GDP based on World Bank data.

MAGU crowned Mo626 College Basketball champs

MAGU Wolves are crowned Mo626 College Basketball third season winners

Malawi Assemblies of God University (MAGU) men’s and ladies basketball teams sent their statement of intent to become Malawi’s College Baskteball kings when they won the National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc sponsored Mo626 College Basketball season three at an exciting finale in Lilongwe at the weekend.

Magu Wolves displayed quality and breath-taking game of basketball to narrowly defeat Malawi University of Business and Applied sciences (MUBAS) Wildcats 63-62 in the men’s final after the game had gone into extra time of five minutes.

In the ladies category, Magu She-Wolves were crowned champions in a one-sided affair when they thrashed Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes) Ganglions 92-33.

The finals were preceded by a street parade in Lilongwe

The men’s final lived up to its billing as it kept the crowd on their toes throughout the entire game because of its competitiveness.

Led by their playmaker Tinotenda Nhila who eventually was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Magu Wolves took advantage of a little slip of play by Mubas Wildcats in the final two minutes of extra time to narrowly win the match with a single point.

Basketball lovers who included NBM top management including Board Director Raymond Banda, an ardent Basketball player in his time, Basketball of Malawi (Basmal) top management and Guest of Honour Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) Director General Daudi Suleman, also an ardent baller of his time, were treated to a good game of basketball.

Triumphant- Magu Wolves and Magu she-wolves players and officials pose with their trophies

For winning the trophy, both Magu Wolves and Magu She-Wolves pocked K2.5 million each while runners up Mubas Wildcats and Kuhes Ganglions got K1.5 million each and third placed teams Bunda Buffaloes who beat University of Malawi (Unima) Hawks 83-76 and Bunda Olivvets who beat Unima Lady Hawks 64-57, got K750,000 each.

NBM plc Chief Finance Officer Masauko Katsala hailed the tournament saying it was competitive and that the students displayed good behaviour throughout the competition.

“From what we have seen so far, the Mo626 College Basketball tournament has unearthed hidden talent that we have in our university students. This tournament has been very competitive,” said Katsala.

A MUBAS Wildcast player jumps to score a three pointer

Basmal president Chief Masawani Jere thanked NBM plc for the sponsorship saying it has helped to unearth talent hidden in colleges and also helped the students to be well behaved.

NBM plc entered into partnership with Basmal in 2017 to stage the K63.5 million competition for a period of three years and the first two seasons were held in 2018 and 2019 but the third season which ended on Saturday was delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions which included ban of sports activities and closure of school in 2020.

NBM staff members lead the street

SUN SEED OIL, CENTRAL POULTRY OWNER WAHEED KASSAM IN MULTI-BILLION TAX EVASION SCAM: ACB, MRA LAUNCHES PROBE

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and Immigration Department have been challenged to probe reports that Indian businessman Waheed Kassam has swindled billions of kwacha through dubious deals when importing raw materials for Sun Seed Oil and Central Poultry.

We are in possession of documents revealing corrupt syndicate in which Kassam and his cousin Nazim Kassiman have been evading tax, in the process defrauding the country of billions of money.

Kassam whose offices are at Dudu and close to Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) has been importing raw materials through dubious means.

According to the documents seen, raw materials were imported from China, Dubai, India, the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa.

This has been happening for as many years as you can imagine, evading tax as well as externalizing forex in the name of hotel construction. They buy materials more than required. For instance, instead of 5 containers they bring 50 or more on duty free and sale the rest.

Inside sources at Sun Seed Oil confided in with this publication that all imports were never bonded and went straight to Dudu or Airport Road premises.

“On externalization of money, they buy goods outside using their Dubai Company and inflate the figures. For example, something they buy at US$10 000 it is invoiced at US$50 000 or more. A container of US$30 000 is priced at a larger amount like US$300 000 and at the border it is reduced to US$10 000,” reveals the source.

“We want ACB to investigate dubious deal Kassam companies have been stealing from Malawians through importation of raw material dubiously. Billions of kwachas have been swindled.
“We are ready to cooperate with probing agencies on this dubious deals Mr Kassam has been doing over the years. We love our country that’s why we are coming out now,” dares inside sources at Central Poultry.

He adds, “We want MRA to tell the nation how one person could invade tax through dubious deals when importing raw materials while the rest of us are burdened with duty on border or airports”.

Five workers from two companies; Sun Seed oil and Central Poultry told this publication that were ready to testify again Kassam’s corrupt dealing when matter is probed.

This comes barely months after Kassam is implicated a case where registered Trustees of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) want court involvement in claiming the land now housing Bisnowaty filling and supermarket, the UNICEF offices and the National Audit Office.

This follows the manner how the said land was sold to David Bisnowaty who later sold the land to Waheed Kassam of MANOBEC limited in Lilongwe.

Kassam has never been available to this publication for reaction over numerous corrupt dealings on his head hence the need for ACB to probe on the matter.

NBM plc top brass inspires Mo626 College Basketball ‘elite four’ captains

Kawawa (left) plays basketball with one of the captains in his NBM Towers office

National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc top bosses Tuesday hosted team captains of the Mo626 College Basketball ‘elite four’ ahead of the last four games of competition which starts today in Lilongwe.

NBM plc Chief Executive Officer Macfussy Kawawa and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Harold Jiya hosted the captains at their offices in the NBM Towers and Business Complex in Blantyre to wish them well in the third season of the NBM plc sponsored Mo626 College Basketball competition.

NBM plc Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Akossa Hiwa said they invited representatives of some of the teams that will play in the upcoming games to NBM plc, just so they could catch up with them on how well training is progressing.

“The CEO and Deputy CEO equally wanted to meet and wish our college athletes well for the upcoming games. They congratulated them for making it past the top 8 and learnt a few basketball skills themselves from the athletes.”

“As the Bank of the Nation, NBM plc values its diverse clientele, and the youth are a part of this. We actively engage the youth through different initiatives, products and services and it was a pleasure to have them in the Executive Wing of the NBM plc towers in the two highest offices of the Bank. We took them out to lunch thereafter and shared lively moments with them. Dare I add that the college athletes were very inspired by the engagement with our CEO and Deputy CEO,” said Hiwa.

She said the excitement both within competing universities and among NBM plc employees has grown tremendously this week towards the count down to the finale on Saturday.

The final phase of the third season of the Mo626 College Basketball comes to an end this weekend with the ‘elite four’ games which starts today at the African Bible College (ABC) Blue Gym in Lilongwe.

Jiya trying to showcase basketball skill with college basketball players in his office

The finals of the K63.5 million tourney will be played at the same venue on Saturday.

The ‘elite four’ games will see MAGU She-wolves, UNIMA Lady Hawks, Bunda Olivettes and Kuhesi Ganglions battling for honours in the ladies category while Mubas wildcats, MAGU Wolves, Unima Hawks and Bunda Buffaloes fighting for supremacy in the men’s category.

Basketball association of Malawi (Basmal) vice president Banthari Banda said they are excited with the level of competition that has been displayed in the third edition of the competition as they will have new winners since past winners (MCA LL Men- 1st and 2nd edition, ABC Lioness & ZIMA- 1st & 2nd edition respectively) are nowhere near the final top 4 teams.

“BASMAL is pretty much prepared for the finals as all semi-final games in both categories will be played on Friday from 15:00 hrs. at ABC Blue Gym with the last game of the day scheduled for 21hrs. 3rd place playoffs and Finals shall be played on Saturday from 9am at the same venue.”

“We are thankful to our sponsors NBM plc for setting the standards because the college competitions are creating a lot of scholarships to student players from both local and international colleges thereby creating intellectuals, disciplined individuals and future leaders through basketball. It’s our hope that NBM plc will renew the partnership with BASMAL that has come at the end of the MOU that was signed in 2017,” said Banda.

“BASMAL Vision is to make basketball everybody’s game, so we’re appealing to the general public, especially parents, to bring their kids to watch exciting basketball games that will be displayed on the day,” added Banda.

Jiya (left) with one of the Captains