Government settled 1.4 billion MSB loan for Goodall’s business partners

Jul 20, 2016 Politics 51
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Goodall Gondwe

The Peter Mutharika administration over the past year paid back a loan which a non-existent firm called Sterling Timber International   received from the now sold Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) with the help of Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe.

Goodall Gondwe
Gondwe facilitated the loan

The company secured the loan from MSB in 2011 to build a timber processing factory in the north but the industrial unit was never set up.  To receive the loan, Sterling Timber got the backing of Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe who was also roped in as a director of the firm.

Gondwe confirmed in 2014 that he lobbied for the loan but said he no longer had any connection with Sterling.

But reports show that Sterling’s K1.4 billion loan was one of the toxic loans government settled after selling 75 percent of its in MSB shares to FDH Financial Holdings Limited.

The company’s name however does not appear on the list of 13 bailed out debtors which government released. This has happened while Gondwe who was instrumental in securing the loan is heading the Ministry of Finance.

When asked to clarify the exclusion of Sterling on the companies listed as beneficiaries of the debt relief, Gondwe reacted angrily.

“Don’t ask me that as if you are my boss. What is your problem?” he said.

Sterling which was the brainchild of the Timber Millers’ Cooperative Union was launched in February  2011 to add export value to pine cut in the 53,500ha Viphya plantation in Mzimba. The union which comprises 400 small millers held a 63% stake in the company.

The plan was for the union to supply raw timber to the factory, which would export finished products to the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and east Africa.

The millers’ union however withdrew its support for the venture in 2014 after realising that the money for the factory had been misappropriated.

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51 Comments

  2. Agalu amenewa koma guys apa nde pakufunika mabombatu coz I myself ndikhoza kutenga ijA timat sucide mbomb bola ndiphe nkhumba zimenez akuwona ngat makwacha ndamawo et

  8. Atsogoleri amipingo mavenda ogwira tchito zaboma ana asukulu apa pakufunika Bindikilo w amapephera kaya ONE WEEK mulungu akhoza kutiyakha muli mosemo kaya tisala kudya koma yakho lingapezeke palibe amati tuku tuku ndi mulungu. Holy Ghost fire

  9. Lets read btwn lines.The issue is very clear and it means ‘Gvt has been forced to pay back the loan.’You know what, no one was supposed to pay back the loan apart from Mw govt becoz they were the owners during the time when the loan was issued.And every loan has an agreed time of repayment.MSB,i guess, was sold before all its loans were paid back.Therefore, the sellers are supposed to pay back the loans while they wait for their agreed time of repayment .In Banking industry we don’t buy out huge sums of loans as it appears to be gumble.To me, i see nothing wrong unless u prove that the loans will not be paid back to the MW govt.

    1. Where was this money lender when the bank left the hands of government to FDH? Why did the government accepted to sale off the Bank while its creditors unsorted? The government new all the these but it was like waiting for chicken to hatch its eggs later you take away the young ones as your treachery, not knowing that you are stealing our taxes. So Mr fraction mmwenye Hussein don’t tell us your bullshit here.get job and have your salary pay as you earn to this fucking idiots government Okky…
      I say to hell

  12. pantumbo paboma munangoti kuyipa khope ndizithitozomwe zoyipa the day I’ll come babyloon adzagwa mumuwuze nebuchadnezzar ndithawi yake yomwera zikho zayehova ndazakekeo one day is one day tidzatopa aliibe amene akadziiwa kuti azithu zingasithe kumalawi ndikuchotsa boma lachipani chimodzi kulibwanji dpp

  16. Mesa mumati achewa alomwe mumatha kuberekana ngati mbuzi olo nkhuku zivotelenani mukuwona kuyipa lero dziko mwaliwononga ife zathu phee Ana aku mpoto zitikhomelerani we are waiting wen God will say yes no one will say no tatopa nanu mitundu yakuba inu

  19. a little fight against these Dpp hyenas will awaken malawians.We are crying for the 577bn and more money is being abused.Republic celebrations were cancelled,where is this money coming from ? Peter went to Ethiopia,Peter dinned his birthday.where is money coming from ? Chanco is closed,When Govt is run by Thieves.That is the trend.

    1. Sono mukuganiza kuti president mpaka azikanika kugwisa ntchito salary yake chifukwa ziko lili mmavuto? Mwakamba za birthday vuto ndi chan

    2. Kaya kape iwe ndi bwampin wako…nonse ndinu agalu how can he settle za manyi a Goodall pomwe dzina zothandza dziko zikupangidwa cancelled.. @ Fatsani Magalasi..galimoto ya kabwira ndi iyo mwaotcha uko…ka dziko ka Nyasaland kalowa mbola pompano anthu aziphedwa ngat Ku south Sudan ngati tikugona.

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  24. Dziko lopanda tsogolo ili ndinanena poyamba kuti President uyu mulibe mphatso yautsogoleli.inu mumaona ngati kukhala President ndikukhala ndi ma degree ogula on line? Sakusamala za anthu uyu chifukwa si mmalawi

  26. dzikoli ngakhale patakhala ng,ombe kapena nkhumba ngati President ndi chimodzi modzi ndi mmene zilili panomu mulibe utsogoleri muno nkhalamba zokhazokha mmalo mwa anyamata alipowa bwanj?

  42. By reacting angrily means he knows something. So who is clean? All these are thieves, even Goodall. Shame.

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