Cdedi demands audit on Greenbelt Greenhouses deal
Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (Cdedi) has written Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda demanding a forensic audit into operations of Greenbelt Greenhouses Limited (GGL) over alleged non-declaration of dividends and availability of annual financial revenue reports.
GGL is a partnership venture between government through the Greenbelt Authority and an Israeli company Inosselia Agro Africa Ltd, which is managing a vegetable farm in Lumbadzi in Dowa District.
In a letter dated January 8 2024, Cdedi executive director Sylvester Namiwa also asked Nyirenda to make public shareholding information and for the GBA to explain the process it followed in identifying Inosselia as both a partner and manager.
Namiwa claimed that in 2018, Treasury made available funding amounting to $5.5 million and allocated 30 hectares of land to establish the said modern vegetable farm, but said at that time, a greenhouse sitting on a hectare of land was pegged at $100 000 and 16 greenhouses were erected.
It reads in part: “Just like the case with SSCL [Salima Sugar Company Limited], the partner [Inosselia] was expected to inject funds as equity that should have translated into GBA having 49 percent shares while 51 percent shares were from Inoselia.
“It should be put on record that apart from the initial $ 5.5 million, the Malawi government pumped in K2.2 billion and K2.7 billion, respectively. As if this is not enough, Malawian taxpayers pay this company every month huge sums of money in what is known as management fees. If the above is anything to go by, then this entity ought to declare dividends and also make public its annual financial statements.”
Namiwa also claims in the letter that Cdedi had gathered that on two different occasions, between 2020 and 2021, a team of auditors from the Auditor General’s office was blocked from accessing the GGL premises.
As such, he said the GBA should demonstrate how it has exercised its delegated authority from Malawians and represented their interests given that the authority has been prevented from placing an officer at the farm.
“The Minister of Finance in copy through the Reserve Bank of Malawi, should provide a detailed account of the foreign exchange accrued from the vegetable exports for the past 5 years the company has been in operation,” adds the letter.
The AG yesterday said was yet to receive the letter from Cdedi.
But an annual progress report from the National Planning Commission for 2021-2022 shows that horticultural products from the greenhouses are being exported to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
GBA signed three known joint ventures with the Indian firm AUM Sugar and Allied Limited operating Salima Sugar Company and with Inosselia Agro Africa Limited running the horticultural Greenbelt Greenhouse Limited as well as the Nchalo Greenbelt Initiative Limited in partnership with Nchalo Smallholder Cane Growers Association.
