WhatsApp betrays Malawi minister

Sending WhatsApp messages to the wrong forum is not new but Malawi Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Joseph Mwanamvekha could be in hot soup as wrong parking has disclosed his dealings.

The minister is reported to have posted pictures of a cheque payment to his personal company Amazon Investment Limited on a WhatsApp forum of Members of Parliament.

Reports reveal that Malawi Fertilizer Company issued a cheque for payment of K18.2 million to Mwanamvekha’s company.

The payment was for transporting fertilizer to Malawi Fertilizer Company which is a private company.

Instead of sending pictures of the cheque to a driver, Mwanamvekha landed the pictures on wrong forum of WhatsApp.

After realising his mistake, Mwanamvekha wrote a statement on the MPs’ forum defending his company’s involvement in the transportation of fertilizer.

“As most of you are already aware, Amazon Investments Limited is a private company whose sole business is transportation and has been in business for almost 10 years.

“The company has been doing business with many private companies including Glens, Manica, Farmers World, ETG, Malawi Fertilizers Co and many others. It has been doing business with these companies way before I became the Minister. When I became the Minister, I made appropriate declarations as required,” wrote Mwanamvekha on the forum.

He then apologised for posting the cheque on the wrong forum.

Meanwhile, Malawi Fertilizer Company has issued a statement clarifying the payment to Mwanamvekha through his company.

The statement dated February 10 and which has been signed General Manager Brahms Swanepoel says Amazon Investment Limited is one of the many local transport companies that the fertilizer company has been doing business with for the past years.

“The payment is for the service provided in transportation in a transparent and legitimate commercial transaction that is well documented as per best practices required by our auditors,” the statement says.

Mwanamvekha was appointed Minister of Agriculture in July last year, replacing George Chaponda who is answering corruption related charges for his role in the procurement of maize from Zambia.