Govt lied about hotel deal case—Nnensa

Balaka South MP George Nnensa on Thursday told Parliament that government lied about a non-existent court case on the  cancellation of the deal to manage the newly constructed Bingu International Conference Centre, The Presidential Hotel and Presidential Villas in Lilongwe.

Three weeks ago, Nnensa asked government to explain to the House why government cancelled the initial contract awarded to South African firm Peermont Global Propriety Limited to manage the hotel, conference centre and the villas and whether Malawians would not end up compensating Peermont for the cancelled deal.

But Minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara at the time said Minister of Tourism and Culture Rachael Zulu could not answer the question because the matter was in court.

However, on Thursday Nnensa told the House that lawyers checked that there was no court case on the deal which was later awarded to another South African firm, Legacy Holdings, whose bid earlier failed to impress authorities processing the tender.

“I have checked with the Solicitor General and Attorney General and they have all said there is no case in the courts on this matter and, therefore, the matter can be brought in the chamber.

“We want government to explain what has happened so that Malawians do not waste resources to compensate Peermont should the company demand damages for cancellation of their contract,” said Nnensa.

However, Nnensa’s question was still not answered because Zulu was not in the chamber.

“I gave all the evidence to both Minister of Justice and Minister of Tourism that this matter is not in court, but they were not present in the chamber when I was asking the question.

“I think there is something very serious that they are hiding. Lawyers from Peermont have just written government to correct the situation within 90 days,” said Nnensa.

A letter from lawyers  Chisanga and Tomoka, dated June 25 reads: “We refer to your institutions herein and write to advise that after thorough searches at all the registries of the High Court, i.e. Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre, we have established that there is no case registered at the High Court of Malawi concerning a dispute on the management and lease of the above mentioned hotel.”

Last month, The Nation revealed that government had offered Legacy Holdings the contract to manage the five-star hotel, conference centre, and the villas, scorning Peermont which won in the first tender processed in 2012.

Legacy clinched the deal despite failing to impress in a special tender that President Joyce Banda ordered to accommodate it after she cancelled negotiations with Peermont.

Said Nnensa: “We, as Malawians, have invested in these structures as the money was a loan.

“Would the minister explain to the nation why and how the contract with Peermont was cancelled and why Legacy, who were not recommended on two occasions, have been given this contract against professional advice from tender evaluators?”