Mutharika hailed for setting up commission of inquiry

Civil Society Grand Coalition has commended President Peter Mutharika for setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate Admarc’s purchase of maize from Zambia.

Spokesperson for Civil Society Grand Coalition Lucky Mbewe said it is a good development that President Peter Mutharika has appointed a commission of inquiry on the maize scandal at Admarc.

“It is a good move that President Peter Mutharika has appointed a commission of inquiry and we believe that those appointed will do the job very well,” said Mbewe.

However critics have been calling for the suspension of Admarc chief executive officer Foster Mulumbe and the firing of Agriculture minister George Chaponda to pave way for investigations into the maizegate issue.

At the moment maize at Admarc depots is selling at a higher price as compared to the price offered by vendors at the local markets.

Admarc told Malawians that it is selling the maize at a higher price because it wants to pay back a loan it got from a bank before purchasing the maize from Zambia.

But later it was revealed that Admarc bought 100,000 tonnes of maize from Zambia through a private company and not directly from the Zambian government leading to higher costs and consequently high maize prices.

It is believed that some officials benefited from the use of the middleman since Admarc paid K26 billion by buying from the Zambian company yet it would have bought the maize directly from the Zambian government for K15 billion.

Previously, Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET) told Malawi24 that such corrupt acts are uncalled for since they enrich a few members of the society whilst poor rural Malawians are failing to have Nsima on their table.