Africa-Press – Malawi. Signs are written all over the walls of justice that Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) former deputy governor Henry Mathanga is a victim of a spate of government witch-hunt against its perceived enemies.
The scheming is well-orchestrated. Those at the helm of State House, RBM, the Office of President and Cabinet and other related state institutions are aware of this but they won’t publicly admit it.
For over 36 years, Mathanga served the Central Bank with utmost zeal and patriotism as evidenced by his steady rise up the rudder until when he was appointed the deputy governor in 2020, on a five-year deal.
Yet, after all his contribution which helped the country’s economy to stay afloat through specialised control of inflation and ensuring that the forex reserves are beyond depletion, all he is reaping is mistreatment, suspicious allegations and humiliation.
But maybe, that is what those deemed as enemies of the State should expect to face as long as Malawi Congress Party (MCP), disguised as Tonse Alliance, is in power. That, if it is the case, the days of democracy are clearly being replaced by autocracy. And that does not read like a good sign.
A renowned local newspaper Nation on Sunday in its latest publication revealed that president Lazarus Chakwera has instituted a committee to probe Mathanga over RBM alleged illegal transactions. If found guilty, he should be fired as “deputy governor.”
The committee is chaired by High Court judge Kenyatta Nyirenda. This is the man that has been presiding over most cases connected with officials that worked in the Democratic Progressive Party regime.
Do you remember the Malawi Electoral Commission case ruling in which commissioners Dr. Jean Mathanga, Linda Kunje, Arthur Nanthulu and Steve Duwa were dismissed?
Nyirenda also presided over the case where former president Mutharika and former chief secretary Lloyd Muhara were accused of plotting to remove Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda and Justice Edward Twea.
His appointment as chairperson of the committee to probe Mathanga, therefore, raises more questions than answers. Without being overly suspicious, let us leave that aside.
Prior to appointing the committee, Chakwera suspended Mathanga in June last year. That was quite some strange move as Mathanga had already resigned from the position following a barrage of cruelties directed at him.
It is for this reason and other convincing ones that Mathanga has written the RBM that he will not meet the committee at a meeting scheduled for this Wednesday in Lilongwe.
“Through a letter dated 26th March 2021, I resigned as deputy governor and this was conveyed to the State President His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera in response to the letter on the same. I also commenced legal proceedings against the bank and the office of the President and Cabinet on the same matter.
“In the circumstances, it is very clear that I am no longer a deputy governor of the bank for all intents and purposes. You may wish to observe that the cited provision used to constitute the committee applies to the employees of the bank, which I am not,” writes Mathanga in a response dated April 14, 2022.
The RBM has based its allegations on a Forensic Audit Report on the Reserve Bank of Malawi payment operations which was released last year. That dossier is being challenged by a couple of stakeholders including Mulli Brothers Limited which was implicated in the suspected irregular transactions.
Further arguing against appearing before the committee, Mathanga points out that Forensic Audit’s legitimacy is being challenged therefore it cannot be used as a basis to open a disciplinary case.
Through a letter dated 7 April 2022, RBM has charged Mathanga with four counts that revolve around breach of general powers and functions of the bank and failure to comply with the Code of Conduct. They are all founded on alleged irregular issuance of letters of credit to four companies valued at K13 billion.
The companies are Mulli Brothers Limited, Rock Ba Rock, FF Trading, Web Commercials Limited, JF Investments and Worldwide Wholesalers. They were contracted by the government to supply fertilisers for the Farm Input Subsidy Programme.
The million-dollar question is: Why is it that it is Mathanga personally who is being accused of approving the letters of credit when the RBM had the whole board, led by its governor, in charge?
Additionally, some of these transactions were made when Mathanga was holding a lesser position than that of deputy governor. How was he able to influence the approval of these deals?
Add to that equation, Mathanga, former governor Dalitso Kabambe and other RBM executives are already answering charges related to these Forensic Audit Report findings.
So, why is the government insisting that Mathanga be probed at institutional level? The reason could be that it wants to find him guilty and then strip him of his terminal benefits and pension. It all seems a properly laid plan; the case of being guilty before being proven innocent.
In his resignation letter, with immediate effect, Mathanga said the government was in breach of contract, having reduced his K18 million monthly salary by half in addition to refusing to allocate him an official vehicle, as stipulated in his contract. He has already dragged the government to court over this government misconduct.
Minister of Information and Digitisation Gospel Kazako said the government did not accept his resignation despite that it did not respond to his resignation.
However, a legal expert Shepherd Mumba told Nation on Sunday that the fact that government did not respond means that the resignation was automatically validated.
“From the law, when somebody resigns that is effected. If he really tendered his resignation letter to his employer, it means his contract was effectively terminated,” he said.
Assessing all these circumstances, it is as clear as the summer sky that the government has waged war against Mathanga. It is likely going to be a protracted tussle. However, sooner or later, justice must prevail.
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