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MPC board suspends executives over K1.6bn

The board of directors of financially crippled Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) has suspended the corporation’s executive management for alleged mismanagement of proceeds from the sale of property estimated at K1.6 billion.

The board, which met on Thursday, made the resolution following the disposal of MPC building in Zomba at K1.6 billion.

Suspended: Meke

In a communication to colleagues which The Nation has seen,  MPC acting postmaster general (PMG) Zacchaeus Meke said he has been suspended for failing to ringfence proceeds from the disposal of the Zomba building due to pressing circumstances involving pre-existing liabilities.

“You will be communicated in due course on the acting PMG position going forward,” he said.

In an interview on Friday, MPC spokesperson Ida Nkolimbo confirmed about the board meeting and the sale of the building, but she could not give further details on the board’s resolution.

MPC board chairperson Noel Mkulichi was yet to respond to our questionnaire by press time around 8pm yesterday.

An MPC insider said the proceeds from the sale run out within a day of clearance as several creditors, including a bank and utility firms, encashed their dues the same day.

MPC has K10.04 billion debt in unserviced statutory obligations and creditors dating back to 16 years.

In an earlier interview, Meke said the parastatal needs about K220 million in staff costs monthly, but can only raise up to K160 million monthly, a situation which worsened due to overstaffing by over 500 employees.

To attain a turnaround strategy, MPC said it needed a commitment of about K41 billion to cover the unserviced statutory obligations and creditors while K30 billion would be used for investments.

Meke is on record as having said the strategy is premised on trying to ensure that the corporation has fully optimised the existence of postal to its postal network in the country.

Minister of Information Gospel Kazako is on record as having asked MPC to embrace new ways of doing things to survive.

MPC was established as a Statutory Corporation in June 2000 under the Communications Act Number 41 of 1998.

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