Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has withdrawn its long-awaited report on the controversial Amaryllis Hotel deal inquiry, giving itself one more month to reopen hearings and summon key figures who were not interviewed.
PAC chairperson Steve Malondera told Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday that the committee needs more time to hear from individuals mentioned in the inquiry, but did not appear.
He said the extension is aimed at ensuring a credible and complete report.
“This is about fairness and completeness. Those who did not appear must be given a chance to respond,” he said.
Malondera dismissed any suggestion of interference, saying the committee had conducted its work professionally and independently.
“Our hands are not being twisted. In fact, we would have tabled the report, but more time was deemed necessary,” he said.
The K128.7 billion Amaryllis Hotel acquisition by the Public Pensions Service Trust Fund has drawn intense scrutiny.
The extension follows concerns raised in the House that key figures, including former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba and the seller, Yusuf Investments Limited, had neither appeared before the committee nor submitted statements.
Leader of the House Jappie Mhango said parliamentary rules require that all those cited be given a chance to respond before the report is tabled.
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Victor Musowa confirmed that no report has formally been presented to Parliament and urged the public to submit any additional evidence.
Meanwhile, Lilongwe Phirilanjuzi legislator Peter Dimba (Malawi Congress Party) linked recent redeployments at the Financial Intelligence Authority to the saga, questioning their timing after funds tied to the deal were frozen.
But Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba said the transfers were routine and unrelated to the inquiry.
The Amaryllis deal remains one of the country’s most closely watched scandals, raising wider questions about pension fund management and oversight.
