The Attorney General Thabo Chikaka Nyirenda has assured Malawians that his office is working on recovering over US$30 million and bring the perpetrators involved in the Salima Sugar Company Limited (SSCL) corruption to book.
Nyirenda said this on Tuesday at Capital Hill in Lilongwe when he addressed a press briefing on the forensic audit report on SSCL.
He disclosed that the report revealed rampant mismanagement and misuse of resources at the company, saying over US$30 million has been misappropriated by the company through various dubious deals for the past years.
The AG said his office is taking swift and decisive action to recover the stolen funds, adding that investigators, prosecutors, and legal experts are working to uncover corruption and financial wrongdoing at SSCL.
He also disclosed that some company officials, civil servants and other government officials are part of the scheme, saying the law will be applied for such individuals.
“Audit consults who were appointed as forensic auditors found that Salima Sugar Company Limited was dealing businesswise with related and suspicious companies incorporated in foreign countries, in particular India, United Arab Emirates – Free Zone Area, Seychelles, and South Africa.
“Additionally, a senior officer incorporated Salima Sugar Company Limited in Dubai without the knowledge of the Malawi Government. A bank account in the name of Salima Sugar Company Limited was opened in Dubai,” he explained.
The AG also said although Malawi’s Exchange Control Regulations require prior ministerial or Reserve Bank of Malawi approval before a person acquires a foreign loan or foreign currency-dominated loans, Salima Sugar Company Limited never obtained prior approval to enter into foreign loans from foreign companies.
According to Nyirenda, although sugar is an important export commodity, no foreign export earnings have been declared by Salima Sugar Company Limited.
“Government has not benefited from forex revenue that Salima Sugar Company has been earning through exports despite huge investment and profits the company has been generating; this is a hindrance to the economic development of the country,” said he.
Nyirenda said the Government of Malawi is currently paying back debts which the company obtained from various institutions without the company’s board’s approval from government.
In his remarks, Minister of Information and Digitalisation Moses Kunkuyu said government will recover the stolen money that has been misappropriated by the company in order to benefit ordinary Malawians.
“Time and again President Lazarus Chakwera has warned officials not to waste resources; we will make sure that there is appropriate management of government resources for better progress of the nation,” Kunkuyu said.
In November 2012, the Malawi National Assembly passed the Export-Import Bank of India (Loan Authorisation) Bill, authorising the Ministry of Finance to borrow the sum of US$76.5 million from the India Exim Bank to finance the development of irrigation network under the Greenbelt Initiative, setting up a refined sugar processing plant in Salima.
In 2015, government incorporated the Greenbelt Initiative (GBI) Holdings Limited as a wholly state-owned enterprise and, in 2022, the shares in GBI Holdings Limited were transferred to the Greenbelt Authority.
Government identified AUM Sugar and Allied Limited (AUM SAL) as a potential partner and established the Salima Sugar Company Limited Joint Venture in 2015, with a 60 percent ownership by AUM SAL and a 40 ownership by government.
By Sarah Munthali and Gift Chiponde
