Africa-Press – Malawi. Government has thrown the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Amaryllis Hotel inquiry into fresh controversy, declaring the report incomplete, flawed and incapable of standing scrutiny after key figures—including former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba and Yusuf Investments Limited—were not questioned.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba has openly challenged the integrity of the inquiry, warning that the omission of central actors fatally undermines the credibility of the findings into the multi-billion-kwacha Public Service Pension Trust Fund hotel acquisition in Blantyre.
In a firm and unusually blunt intervention, Namalomba said government is not opposing the tabling of the report in Parliament—but insists it is deeply concerned that the investigation was concluded without hearing from what he described as critical witnesses.
“The government has no objection whatsoever to the timely presentation of the report once the committee has concluded its work in a thorough and complete manner,” he said.
But he immediately cast doubt on the process, stressing that the absence of both the seller of the property and former SPC Colleen Zamba leaves a gaping hole in the inquiry.
“However, we are deeply concerned that neither the seller of the property in question nor the former Secretary to the President, Madam Zamba, both of whom are central to this investigation, have appeared before the committee.”
Namalomba warned that this was not a minor procedural issue but a serious defect that risks distorting the entire outcome of the investigation.
He insisted government’s position is clear: no key witness should be left unheard, arguing that anything short of that renders the exercise dangerously incomplete.
President Peter Mutharika, he added, wants full truth and accountability, urging PAC to summon all remaining witnesses before finalisation. He warned that failure to do so would leave the report “fundamentally incomplete” and its findings potentially unreliable.
The controversy deepened after PAC confirmed it had closed its inquiry on March 30, 2026, despite the absence of Zamba—who was reportedly abroad for medical treatment—and Yusuf Investments Limited, the seller of the hotel.
PAC chairperson Steven Malondera defended the committee’s decision, saying members unanimously agreed to proceed after exhaustive deliberations.
“The committee had to go through the report line by line, sentence by sentence, page by page and chapter by chapter,” he said.
He added that a formal vote was taken to adopt the report, clearing the way for its presentation to Parliament, where it may still be rejected or adopted.
But government’s position now directly challenges that outcome, effectively branding the process as incomplete at its core.
Legal tensions have further complicated the matter. Zamba’s lawyer George Kadzipatike informed Parliament that she is currently facing a criminal case—number 266 of 2026—linked to allegations of abuse of office in relation to the same transaction, and therefore could not attend proceedings. He also cited her medical treatment abroad.
Governance experts have been equally scathing. Analyst George Chaima said excluding key witnesses strips the inquiry of legitimacy and reduces it to a compromised exercise.
He described the report as “flimsy and incomplete,” warning that tabling it in its current form would amount to “sabotage to justice and truth.”
Public expenditure tracking specialist Mabvuto Bamusi was even more direct, arguing that accountability remains unfinished without testimony from the seller.
He warned that failure to hear Yusuf Investments would create the perception of selective protection of powerful actors.
Civil society voices have also raised alarm. Centre for Social Transparency and Accountability executive director Willy Kambwandira said the pushback against the report exposes a credibility crisis within the inquiry process itself, warning of possible perceptions of bias and weakened parliamentary oversight.
Despite these concerns, PAC maintains it has concluded its work and is ready to present the report—setting the stage for a high-stakes parliamentary showdown over one of the most controversial public asset transactions in recent years.
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