Cotton Ginners Africa Limited (CGAL) has filed an application asking the High Court of Malawi to issue an order compelling Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament to release documents on Export Development Fund (EDF).
CGAL executives through their lawyer Fostino Maele told the court in Blantyre on Wednesday that the said documents which include minutes of PAC’s meeting with the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) on the EDF are crucial in their case.
In the case, EDF, a division of RBM, is accusing CGAL of defrauding it $5 million (about K8.8 billion) through a dubious loan facility.
In an oral submission, Maele argued that during a meeting held in September 2021, PAC questioned the legality of EDF and wondered why RBM allowed the institution to operate for over nine years without a licence.
“We believe if we have a court order it will be easier for us to get that authenticity document,” he argued.
But in his submission in opposition, Maele’s argument, Pempho Likongwe, SC, who is a private practice lawyer, but is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that CGAL made a similar application and that it was dismissed by Judge Sylvester Kalembera, now justice of appeal.
He said: “This application was heard by the court, so it is the abuse of court processes. For the disclosure of information, there is Access to Information law which enables any person with interest to access any public document.”
Responding to Likongwe’s submission, Maele argued that they have filed the application based on the recent Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal ruling which stated that actions should not encourage people to break the law.
After hearing arguments from both parties, presiding Judge Anneline Kanthambi reserved the ruling to a date to be announced later.
