Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) board has suspended the parastatal’s general manager Rhino Chiphiko for purchasing a K107 million official vehicle.
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Chiphiko said he received his suspension letter on May 20 2022.
He said the Admarc board of directors based its decision on an audit into the procurement of a Nissan Patrol.
Critics have said the procurement was extravagant for a parastatal that survives on taxpayer-funded bailouts and government-guaranteed loans owing to its persistent loss making.
Chiphiko said: “I have been suspended and it is about the purchase of the vehicle. The board of directors conducted an audit on the matter, but as of now I don’t have information on what transpired.”
He said his suspension letter indicates that he will appear before the board after 14 days beginning May 20 2022.
However, Chiphiko said he is ready to face the board to explain his side of the story.
When contacted, Admarc board chairperson Alexander Kusamba Dzonzi asked for more time as he was in a meeting.
But in an earlier interview last month after news of the vehicle’s procurement came to light, Dzonzi said it was bought without the board’s approval.
In his own defence at the time, Chiphiko argued that he had opted for a lower cost vehicle than that of his entitlement, which he said is a Toyota Landcruiser TX, because he was equally considerate of Admarc’s financial position.
He further justified that the vehicle he was using clocked 368 000 kilometres (km) beyond the 200 000 km that triggers replacement.
Meanwhile, sources within Admarc said the board was considering appointing director of operations Garnet Gwembere to lead the company in the interim.
Admarc is one of the parastatals struggling financially and has over the years failed to serve Malawians as per its mandate of produce price stabiliser, ready market for farmers and a social function arm of government’s food security apparatus.
According to the most recent 2021 Malawi Government Annual Economic Report, as at half year of the 2020/21 financial year, Admarc recorded a net loss-after-tax of K3.7 billion.
