Free for all! President Lazarus Chakwera’s Press Secretary Brain Banda has been embroiled in a corruption scandal where he got millions of kwachas from Indian businessmen in exchange for favours in a Marep project.

We can reveal that Banda got more than K20 million from some Indian businessmen who wanted to have their business premises electrified in the outskirts of Chileka in Blantyre.

Insiders said president Chakwera has been made aware of the scandal and is yet to make a decision.

A source said when the Indian businessmen approached Banda for help, he knew it would take long if they were to go through Escom and decided to use Marep.

“He called people at Marep to connect the Indians saying the President had directed so but this raised some suspicion at Marep as the area that Banda was talking about was not among the priority areas of the project and decided to cross check with the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).”

“It was people at OPC who raised the flag and when they checked with the President, it was found that he never gave that order. So we are waiting what decision the President will make,” explained the source.

This is not the first time for Banda to be involved in corruption shenanigans. He was fired at Times Group for soliciting bribes but was called back following public outcry.

During former president Joyce Banda’s reign when he was one of the presidential press offers, Banda was also involved in a K5 million scam from National Aids Commission after telling management that then president had authorized that NAC gives him the money for some communication project.

Social media has been awash with the news of Andrew Nyondo who is using Chigoba called Peter Makina to shower insults at UTM members even those in cabinet.

Following his appointment to be Public Relation Officer(PRO) of Ministry of Homeland Security, where Chimwendo Banda is the Minister this has raised a lot of discomfort with Tonse Alliance government that the political marriage between MCP an UTM is of cat and mouse and is nearing to the end. Andrew Nyondo aka Peter Makina was mere driver at department of Prison which too falls under the Ministry of Homeland Security.

Recently ‘peter makina’ was seen attacking Deputy Minister of Health, Chrissie Kalamula for taking her holiday to her family in USA.

Latest reports have emerged that the trio of mkaka, khumbize and Chimwendo are behind all the bad mouthing Andrew Nyondo is vomiting on social media to discredit UTM leadership and followers.

There is fierce battle going on between UTM and MCP on social media for supremacy.

Two days ago MCP has appointed three media team guys to work at State House with a sole reason to fight UTM President Saulos Chilima and his entire leadership as plot for 2025 battles.

A feud of supremacy between DPP spokesperson Brown James Mpinganjira and the party’s parliamentary spokesperson on finance Joseph Mathyola Mwanamveka has seemingly ensued where both of them have signed off a statement on the party’s position on the alleged misappropriation of K6.2 billion at the Department of Disaster Management (DoDMA), which falls under the presidency.

In an exciting twist of events, Mwanamveka originated a statement as DPP parliamentary spokesperson on finance in which he reprimanded President Lazarus Chakwera’s government for allegedly allowing DoDma officials abuse billions of Kwacha allocated for the fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

According to inside sources, alparently following protocol, Mwanamveka informed party President Arthur Peter Mutharika about his intention to issue a statement in his parliamentary spokesperson capacity. He shared the copy of the statement with his leader.

However, upon receiving the statement, APM forwarded it to Mpinganjira to seek his views and input. In an apparent desire to outdo Mwanamveka, Mpinganjira, or BJ as he is popularly known in political circles, went ahead to sign off the statement and released it to the media as originating from the ‘Office of the DPP Spokesperson’.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, and without further waiting for feedback from the party President, APM, Mwanamveka released the same statement to the media bearing his signature. The Nation of Tuesday February 9, 2021, carries a story quoting Mwanamveka’s statement on its front page.

The same Mwanamveka statement has also been published on online Nyasa Times.

A political analyst in Lilongwe, Charles Kalungwe, has observed that the DPP is in a state of chaos and flux, especially considering the latest statement episode.

“The party is in some form of involuntary transition. There are so many people with top leadership ambitions and they will not stop at anything to outdo each other. This ‘statement’ drama is a typical example of leaders in a fight over visibility”, said Kalungwe in an interview on Tuesday.

He also said what has just happened in the DPP suggests there are many centres of power that are being created by various aspirants such as Mpinganjira and Mwanamveka in anticipation of the forthcoming leadership contest.

“This is the kind of chaos that characterized a political party with no clear leadership succession plan. It also tells you that the leader of the party is not in control,” he said.

It is not clear whether or not the party will clarify who should have been the appropriate official to sign off and publish the statement.

National Oil Company of Malawi(Nocma) has been caught pants down after forcing Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) to award two companies contracts without following procurement procedures as laid down in an Act of Parliament.

According to impeccable source from Nocma, the companies being illegally awarded are Tanzanian based Lake Oil Limited and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Shipping Company (LPG).

“It’s illegal process. All necessary legal steps were waived because Mkaka ordered the board to do so. If these companies are awarded, the import bill will increase to $50million,” our source said who is a board member of MERA.

According to Malawi Voice investigation, the ones on the fore front pushing for those illegal deals are Secretary to the Office of President and Cabinet (SPC) Zangazanga Chikhosi and Nocma Deputy CEO Helen Buluma and ‘prime minister’ Mkaka who happens to be the Secretary General of MCP.

“I can tell you that Nocma is rotten from the head to toes. People are sharing money like Manna from Heaven. It’s free for all. We are being used to siphon money for Chakwera 2025 bid. This is why you see everything is going haywire in this administration. We are here to ‘cover the boss’. All boards have been ordered to do the same and create more board meetings for the same reasons as CEO’s have no say in all this free for all plunder,” said the source who has promised us to give more details in our subsequent publication.

Mkaka and Buluma are said to be in love affairs according to grapevine reports.

Last year President Chakwera ordered the firing of Buluma but up to now the Presidential directive has been disobeyed because the lady is in love affairs with the ‘PM’.

MALAWI VOICE WILL COME WITH MORE UPATES ON THIS;

EXCLUSIVE!

Shame! ‘Prime Minister’ Eisenhower Mkaka who is also President Lazarus Chakwera’s green eyed boy and another powerful cabinet minister Richard Chimwendo Banda are on a corruption rampage, demanding K50 million from each and every Asian who wants to to bid for MAREP TENDERS, if they want to be successful, we can exclusively reveal.

“With the blessings of President Chakwera, Malawi Congress Party established a committee chaired by their Treasurer General Albert Mbawala, to look at allocations of MAREP tenders and that Chakwera and his errand boys should make a good fortune from it,” insiders have revealed.

“From the directives of the President, the Committee had to include Mkaka and Chimwendo as they were the ones to report to the President directly and make sure the proceeds reached to him in preparation for the 2025 polls,” added our impeccable source.

Mkaka and Chimwendo are now holding various meetings with Asian businessmen interested to bid for MAREP tenders to pay their ‘cut’ for them to be considered for the contracts.

We can also reveal that the green-jacketed ministers duo approached one mmwenye (name withheld) at Capital Hotel few days ago, where they demanded to be given MK50m so that they squeeze him in the list of suppliers.

The excited cabinet duo are said to have collected more than K500 million in the scam.

Some Asians who are hesitant to pay the K50 million have been threatened to be deported or have their permits revoked by Chimwendo Banda in his capacityas Homeland Affairs Minister.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Ministry of Energy Patrick Matanda is not enjoying his work as he is under intense pressure from Mkaka and Chimwendo Banda to make sure that the Asians who have paid up are given the contracts.

Another senior official at the ministry who is being chocked by Mkaka and Chimwendo is Rexa Gama who has been told to do what the cabinet members want.

Some Asians have tipped the toothless Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on this issue and the bureau is said to have opened 14 files and are awaiting for the appointment of their Director to go ahead with the investigations.

MCP crocodiles have sunk their teeth deep into the flesh of UTM member Chrissie Kanyasho Kalamula who is a member of Lazarus Chakwera’s cabinet.

The crocodiles have picked a bone with Kanyasho’s absence after she travelled on holiday to the US while the country is battling the devastating Covid-19 pandemic where the Ministry of Health is required to provide leadership.

Kanyasho is Deputy Minister of Health.

Led by MCP executive member Ezekiel Ching’oma, the bloody toothed crocodiles have torn Kanyasho apart on social media, accusing her of absconding from duty.

The venomous crocodiles claim that at the time the country needed her support in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, she chose to fly out to see her family in Washington DC, USA.

The reptiles seem to get motivation in their carnivorous behaviour on Kalamula by the fact that their member, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, has become the face of the fight against Covid-19.

In her capacity as Minister of Health, Kandodo Chiponda is leading daily updates on the pandemic.

The hungry MCP media team has since asked Chakwera to dismiss Kalamula from the cabinet.

Kalamula has defended herself saying she travelled with the approval of the State President, as protocol demands.

Kalamula is also Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament.

From Day One, MCP and UTM have been inconvenient bedfellows in the Tonse Alliance administration with their respective media team regularly trading salvos on social media.

Campaign for DPP Presidency has reached a climax level with two DPP candidates Daliso Kabambe and Joseph Mwanamveka still courting DPP eligible voters to the convention despite COVID-19 spike.

Kabambe is on Thursday February, 2021 afternoon meeting Northern region delegates at regional level after meeting Kasungu district governors in the morning while Mwanamveka popularly known as “Mwanasound’ is still camping in the central region to woo voters to vote for him.

Kabambe whom some people have nicknamed “Mr 28 m” after his RBM salary, is sneaking to the North. Kabambe is touring the North barely two weeks after holding similar meetings in the Central Region where all each governor carted home K80, 000.

Apparently no top leadership is alarmed by these two leaders crisscrossing the country a midst COVID-19 which deadly as Ebola.

Mwanamveka as the Minister of Finance was the boss of Kabambe who by that time was the Governor of RBM.