The Centre for Democracy and Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has urged the Government to desist from the selective application of justice in the matter of Salima Sugar Company Limited (SSCL), where millions of Kwachas are suspected to have entered into other people’s pockets.
According to the Executive Director for CDEDI, Silvester Namiwa, during a press briefing, the Attorney General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda assured Malawians that every Kwacha and Tambala suspected to have been lost in the enterprise will be recovered.
Namiwa commended the Attorney General for making public the contents of the forensic audit commissioned by the Malawi Government and advised him that “if he is serious about clearing the rubble at SSCL, the starting point should be to immediately remove the SSCL Executive Chairperson Wester Kosamu from his position.”
On December 4, 2023, CDEDI released a statement signed by its Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa, appealing for periodic updates on the matter to avoid speculations and misinformation that may prevent the exercise.
“Malawians do not understand how Kosamu finds his position at SSCL after the Malawi Law Society (MLS) Disciplinary Committee recently suspended him from practicing law for six months on alleged misappropriation of clients’ money,” stated Namiwa.
CDEDI finds Kosamu too conflicted to continue representing the interests of Malawians at SSCL and the Greenbelt Authority (GBA), saying he does not seem to represent the kind of change Malawians anticipate at SSCL.
“In view of documentary evidence that in just a few months Kosamu has served as SSCL Executive Chairperson, he has suspectedly abused his position by instructing SSCL to pay K7,514,250 in respect of customs duty for his personal property, a super sink trailer,” reads the statement.
The statement also reveals that “SSCL paid in two installments of K3,514,250 through Payment Voucher 1767 and Cheque number 008057.”
CDEDI alleges that Kosamu is also accused of single-handedly signing a consent order for an out-of-court settlement on a lawsuit involving SSCL without the Board’s approval and committing SSCL to pay about K252 million in respect of the same.
The organization has urged the government to keep an open eye on all joint venture entities under the Greenbelt Authority (GBA), expressing concerns that what is happening at SSCL could also be happening elsewhere.
