Joyce Banda flying in mysterious plane

President Joyce Banda—who sold the presidential jet three months ago and promised to fly commercial to cut costs—has been on the wing of a mysterious jet that State House says is from “well-wishers.”

Equally mysterious is whether Malawian taxpayers are paying for the jet whose use could be a mockery of the President’s commitment to prudence in the application of public resources.

The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) said on Tuesday that it is not aware of any arrangements on any jet to do with the President and referred Nation on Sunday to State House.

State House press secretary Steven Nhlane confirmed that the President has access to a private jet whose benefactor he refused to disclose.

But he said there is no cost to the taxpayer arising from use of the jet as it is being provided to government for free.

“This jet is from the President’s well-wishers. The aircraft is not chartered by government. There is no hypocrisy. It is made available to her by her well-wishers. There is no cost to the Malawi tax- payer when she travels on a private aircraft,” said Nhlane.

He said the President travels on commercial airlines when her trip has been funded by government.

Asked who the well-wishers are, Nhlane said: “You do not have to know them. Besides, they have told us not to disclose their identities. That is what friends are meant for, helping each other.”

However, a Malawi News Agency (Mana) report from Nairobi in Kenya, dated December 12 2013, contradicted Nhlane.

According to Mana, Banda arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 6:30pm in a chartered plane, registration number ZS-FCI, to attend that country’s 50th independence celebrations.

The President has been travelling to some of her international engagements on the mysterious plane, the latest being the memorial of Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, who is being buried today.

She left the country on Monday evening for South Africa before proceeding to Kenya. She returned on Friday to attend her daughter’s wedding yesterday before flying back to South Africa in the evening for Mandela’s burial.

But as Chancellor College political scientist Blessings Chinsinga said in an interview on Thursday, there are no “free lunches”, arguing that these “well-wishers” have their own interests they want to achieve.

“As a country, we do not know what those interests are and whether they will add value to us or crucify us as a nation. The matter has to be looked at and government needs to be transparent.

“It is not enough to say that taxpayers are paying nothing. We have to know who these people are that are providing this support, what their interests might be,” he said.

The last time the nation was told that “well-wishers” had provided expensive freebies to the President—payment to Bell Pottinger on behalf of Banda to help spruce up her cash-gate soiled image—sordid details emerged in the international press of how the supposed benefactor got a lucrative military equipment deal from the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), of which the Head of State is the Commander-in-Chief.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported last month that the Ichikowitz Family Foundation—a family foundation set up by Paramount Group—was paying British public relations firm Bell Pottinger to help rebuild her image and in particular to regain donor confidence after the cashgate fallout.

Paramount Group executive director Eric Ichikowitz confirmed to the Daily Telegraph that his family foundation is paying Bell Pottinger on Banda’s behalf.

“The Family Foundation believes that President Banda is a force for good in Malawi and that she is striving to improve the lives of all Malawians.

“It is keen for her efforts to be duly recognised by the international community and fairly represented in the international media,” said Ichikowitz.

But then the Daily Telegraph dug deeper and found that Banda has commissioned seven interceptor boats from Paramount Group which will be fitted with arms to patrol Lake Malawi, a deal critics say may not have followed Malawi’s procurement processes.

The Malawi Government will also reportedly be paying one of the companies linked to Paramount to provide training and maintenance for the boats over the next five years as well as potentially buying other large boats from the firm.

As well as taking orders for military hardware, Ichikowitz, according to the paper, through a private equity firm called Trans Africa Capital, is also understood to have signed agriculture and fuel contracts with the Malawi Government.

The value of the contract has not been established.

Defence Minister Ken Kandodo said in a statement reported by The Daily Times last week that the procurement of the equipment was initiated and executed by MDF in conjunction with other relevant government departments as a direct response to a strategic requirement and not the President as media reported.

“I want to make it clear that all due processes were followed in the procurement of the defence equipment. The acquisition is part of an on-going process to equip and up-scale the MDF to enable it undertake a variety of operations, including protection of Malawi’s natural resources, border patrols, peace keeping missions, search and rescue operations,” he said.

Former vice-president and secretary to government Justin Malewezi said what used to happen during the time he served Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his experience with the Bakili Muluzi regime regarding a presidential trip would involve the government machinery at all costs.

He said presidential planes then were run by the military which provided pilots and stewards.

“Things might have changed since then because presidents bring their own policies. I remember a time when the presidential plane we inherited ran out of service and we had to outsource.

“We, with the involvement of the military, had to choose from several options from where we could hire. We shortlisted one with the full knowledge of all security bodies. I was also involved in a similar organisation with Dr Banda as his chief secretary,” said Malewezi.

Asked whether procedures such as chartering a presidential plane would be done without the knowledge of OPC as has happened in President Banda’s case, Malewezi said there was no way this would have happened during his tenure as vice-president and, earlier, as head of the public service.

National secretary of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) Chris Chisoni said the lack of information and transparency on the issue smacks of hypocrisy.

Chisoni wondered why the so-called well-wishers appeared generous only to the President without considering opposition leaders or the nation.

“This is an open government with an open society meant to provide information to taxpayers and from a public office such as the Office of President and Cabinet.

“Why play hide and seek with details and identity of well-wishers? It leaves room for speculation, particularly where there is such a contradiction, which is not healthy for a striving democracy,” he said.