Beam Trust, Mulhako bombard NAC with funding requests

First Lady Gertrude Mutharika’s Beautify Malawi (Beam) Trust and tribal grouping Mulhako wa Alhomwe in September this year asked for money amounting to about K15 million (about $30 000) from National Aids Commission (NAC) to fund activities that have nothing to do with the fight against the HIV/Aids pandemic, Weekend Nation can report.

NAC is mandated to manage the HIV and Aids national response in the country, but documents we have seen show that the First Lady personally wrote the executive director of NAC asking for financial support to launch her initiative on September 13.

” As a patron and chairperson of the Gertrude Mutharika Beautify Malawi Trust, I am greatly concerned about the sorry state of sanitation in most of our local communities, both rural and urban. Our approach is to work with the Government [through local councils] and like-minded organisations in projects that will promote a cleaner and healthier Malawi.

“In order to achieve this vision, we would like to seek financial assistance from your organisation to help us successfully launch this initiative on September 13 and support the ensuing operations of the Trust,” writes Mutharika to NAC.

The letter was followed by a K5 million ($10 000) invoice to NAC dated September 9 “as being charges for advertising at Beam launch.”

Deputy chairperson of the Trust, Collins Magalasi claimed on Tuesday in an interview that it was NAC that asked the organisation to send them a proposal for funding.

“We had sent several proposals to do with the launch of the Trust and NAC invited us to come up with the proposal,’’ said Magalasi.

Apart from Beam, documents that we have also seen show that tribal grouping Mulhako wa Alhomwe, whose patron is President Peter Mutharika, also asked for K9.4 million (about $18 800) from NAC to cover expenses for its 2014 annual gathering.

According to the documents, the grouping wrote to NAC requesting for financial support purportedly to be used for HIV mainstreaming at its commemorative event held at Chonde in Mulanje.

In a letter dated 8 September 2014 and signed by the secretary for the Board of

Trustees, Jean Mathanga, Mulhako wa Alhomwe requested the said amount to help put in place measures to prevent spread of HIV during the ceremony which attracts over 200 000 people from across the country.

“This request is being made in light of two crucial factors, the Mulhako wa Alhomwe belt has the highest prevalence of HIV and Aids in the country largely due to labour migration and plantation economies and that this gathering [Mulhako wa Alhomwe festival] oftentimes increases sexual activities during and after the festival, thereby putting people at risk of either transmitting or contacting the virus that causes Aids,” reads the letter in part.

But ironically the letter cites preparations for the ceremony, media and mobilisation activities, transportation and accommodation of delegates to and from the ceremony as key areas the funding will support.

Speaking in an interview last week, the grouping’s coordinator Muchanya Mpuluka Khwaye said: “It is a common practice that the Commission takes HIV/Aids messages to the Mulhako wa Alhomwe cultural activities, so this could be the reason why our organisation went to NAC with the proposal.”

According to the documents, another organisation that asked for funding from NAC in September 2014 is the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to the tune of K43 million.

A letter dated 12 September to NAC executive director signed by NIB director Nicholas Dausi asks for the money to be used in preventing new infections by providing accurate HIV and Aids information to members of staff and their spouses.

But the letter does not give detailed activities of how the money would be spent

“We would like to partner with the National Aids Commission for HIV work-related activities, in order to reduce HIV infections, among our staff,” writes Dausi.

Dausi refused to comment on the matter this week.

NAC acting executive director Dave Kalomba confirmed in a questionnaire response that Beam and Mulhako wa Alhomwe were funded while NIB is yet to be given the money.

“Beautify Malawi—Event used as a high-level HIV and Aids advocacy and IEC forum by NAC. Mulhako wa Alhomwe—HIV and Aids mainstreaming and advocacy forum for traditional leaders,” he summarised in the response.

NAC activities are largely funded by Global Fund, an international partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by Aids, among others.

According to its website (www.theglobalfund.org), it raises and invests nearly $4 billion a year to support programmes run by local experts in more than 140 countries.

In March this year, NAC refunded Global Fund over K400 million following abuse of money which took place during the implementation of one of its grants in 2010.

Executive director for the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Timothy Mtambo has condemned the practice, saying NAC should be left alone to fight HIV and Aids in this country.

“The move itself confirms our long-held fears that Malawi is failing to progress on many fronts because of ill-advised and misdirected priorities by our leadership. At a time when Malawi is going through economic turmoil due to, among others, pulling out of donors and other development partners, it is a mockery on our own nationhood for a government institution that operates on taxpayers resources to consider donating resources to organisations that do not deserve such funding,” said Mtambo.

He added: “In fact, this is an act of abuse of resources by a public office, but unfortunately, this circus is not peculiar to NAC alone as various statutory bodies have been used as income-generating institutions to finance activities that are only in the interest of the President or a political party in power.”