Singo wants Pension Fund’s Amaryllis Hotel acquisition reversed
In a new twist of events, Public Service Pension Trust Fund statutory manager Stain Singo has called for cancellation of the controversial K128 billion Amaryllis Hotel deal to recover money paid to Yusuf Investment Limited.
He said in an interview yesterday that the transaction that saw the fund acquire the Blantyre-based hotel happened at a time there were governance weaknesses, including the absence of an organisational structure, an internal audit manager and a risk and compliance manager.
Singo, who was in July this year appointed statutory manager, said the absence of a formal organisational structure meant that the fund lacked clearly defined reporting lines and levels of authority, potentially allowing important procedures to be bypassed.
He said: “So some processes were not being followed due to lack of an organogram. So, there was no order of power and authority.
“Since the Financial Services Act gives the statutory manager power to reverse or cancel any suspected fraudulent deal, I want this transaction to be reversed and money be returned to the fund.”
Meanwhile, last week the fund and Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) separately secured court orders blocking access to K90.125 billion held in four bank accounts linked to Yusuf Investments Limited and Amaryllis Hotel Limited.
The orders, obtained by Singo in his capacity as statutory manager and the Registrar of Financial Institutions (RFI), respectively, targeted accounts held at National Bank of Malawi’s Henderson Street Branch in Blantyre. The order further added National Bank of Malawi plc as the 13th defendant in the proceedings and granted a freezing injunction restraining the bank from dealing with funds and assets held in the four accounts.
RBM Governor George Partridge, who is the RFI, obtained a mandatory injunction requiring the trustees to rescind the hotel acquisition contract and recover all funds paid in connection with the purchase.
In an earlier interview with The Nation in July, Singo lamented that despite paying K90 billion for the Amaryllis Hotel acquisition, the fund is yet to take legal ownership and reap from the investment.
He said the fund was yet to get the title deed, share certificate or operational reports and handovers for the hotel located in Blantyre central business district.
“We paid about K90 billion, but we have no title deed, no share certificate and no operational reports,” said Singo.
The chartered insurer, who previously served as Nico Life Insurance Company chief executive officer and founded Smile Life Insurance Company Limited, also proposed amendment of the fund’s trustees deed to include professional bodies such as Malawi Law Society, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (Icam), insurers and the clergy. Currently, the fund has slots for 12 trustees equally shared between the employer and employees.
Corporate governance expert Jimmy Lipunga is on record as having said the developments highlighted the need for structural reforms capable of strengthening accountability, transparency and institutional resilience.
Icam chief executive officer Noel Zigowa also agreed with Lipunga’s sentiments and said the recent governance challenges demonstrated the importance of strengthening professional oversight.
Referring to the Amaryllis transaction, Zigowa said the controversy underscored the importance of rigorous due diligence, independent valuations, transparent decision-ma k i ng and proper documentat ion before substantial amounts of contributors’ funds are committed, while cautioning against prejudging ongoing parliamentary and court processes.
The K128 billion transaction has stirred controversy with parallel legal battles and parliamentary inquiry underway.
