Govt risks eviction from Gemini House

Government has accumulated rentals of up to K2.922 billion which it is failing to pay, according to documents seen by Weekend Nation.

As a result, Malawi Property Investment Company (Mpico) has given government notice to vacate Gemini House by May 1 2015.

But Ministry of Finance spokesperson, Nations Msowoya, expressed surprise at Mpico’s ultimatum.

“All this time we have been paying them accordingly. We have an agreement with Mpico that we would pay at the end of the financial year,” Msowoya said.

Mpico managing director, Peter du Plessis, refused to comment, only saying: “I’m sorry I’m not accepting any interviews from news reporters as I’m currently in Blantyre with some people.”

In a letter dated 2 February 2015 addressed to Ivy Luhanga, principal secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Mpico gave government until 1 May or else risks eviction.

“With the conclusion of our annual audit by KPMG, we have been advised that Mpico is no longer a going concern. This is solely attributed to our inability to pay our creditors which has resulted from government’s failure to pay rental timeously,” writes du Plessis.

In the letter, du Plessis alluded to several meetings over 15 months between government and Mpico that have failed to yield results.

But Msowoya said the government paid off a substantial amount it owed Mpico, but it failed to pay in 2014 due to cash flow problems in 2014. He insisted, however, that government would pay Mpico.

In a separate interview, Ministry of Lands spokesperson, Ayam Maeresa, said his ministry met with Mpico and the Treasury to map the way forward and another meeting has been scheduled for next week to reconcile the amounts the government owes.

Among the ministries and departments to be affected are ministries of Gender, Trade and Tabour and Department of Statutory Corporations.

An earlier letter dated 14 August 2014, also seen by Weekend Nation, gave government notice to vacate Europa House, also for failure to honour its rental obligations.

National Registration Bureau, which occupied the bulding at the time, has since moved on.

During his presentation of the 2014/2015 budget, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said government owes the private sector about K70 billion in goods and service as a result of economic downturn the country has been facing for the past years.