Malawi: State House Paid K247m to Contractor Bonongwe for Mutharika's Private Residences

Lilongwe-based businessman Gilliat Samudeni Bonongwe, trading under the name Bonongwe Building Construction, was paid K247 000 000 by State House from the public funds as he was building former president Peter Mutharika's Mapanga and Mangochi private residences.

But Bonongwe claims he did some work for State residences such as maintainance works.

He said, however, that he dragged Mutharika to the High Court's Commercial Division for breach of contract and failure to honour payment for his private residences.

Bonongwe claims that, in 2018, Mutharika, through his aide Norman Chisale, engaged his company Bonongwe Building Construction in several housing projects.

He claims that, from July 2020, his company has been involved in construction of the former president's houses in Mangochi, Mapanga and Nyambadwe in Blantyre and Area 43 in Lilongwe to the tune of K165 million.

Bonongwe claims that he orally entered into an agreement with the former president to provide building materials for implementation of the project, and pay monthly salaries for labourers engaged in the projects on understanding that he would raise the bill at the end of the projects.

He further claims that the ex-president has only managed to pay K30 million and has not paid the outstanding sum of K135 million despite the contractor's efforts to get the money.

The contractor is, therefore, demanding payment of K135 million, at an interest rate of three percent, and damages for breach of contract and legal costs.

However, cheques which Nyasa Times have seen show that Bonongwe was paid by State House on April 10, 2019 the sum of K40 milllion.

He was paid through State House Resuidence ORT account number 1253328 using cheque number 44738.

Other payments were also made to him through the same account including the last deposit of k57 million made on July 3 2019 using cheque number 45208.

Bonongwe confirmed the payments received, saying there for "renovations" works he had carried.

But Finance minister Felix Mlusu had just increased State Residences budget, saying they need massive rehabilitation, which Parliament passed in the mid-term review budget that has ended in Lilongwe..

Mlusu said after taking over power, the Tonse Government found most of the State Residences in bad shape, adding that some were even leaking.

Mutharika at his beachside private retirement home in Mangochi could not immediately comment and his personal secretary Linda Salanjira also declined to comment on the matter.

Critics say he presided over one of the most corrupt periods in democratic Malawi where people in his administration acted with impunity while he either looked away or had no idea what was going on around him.

Mutharika--who lost to Lazarus Chakwera of Tonse Alliance in the June 2020 court-ordered fresh presidential election--is on record defending himself that said corruption did not start with his administration and will not end with him, suggesting it is nearly impossible to stop people from indulging in fraud and corrupt practices.

This article originally appeared on Nyasa Times

Photo: Bloomberg