Govt defends $13.9 million maize deal

Malawi government has defended the controversial US$13.9 million reallocation from Blantyre Water Board to a maize deal with Zambia, but questions over the funds have refused to go away.

Information and Communication Technology Minister Shadric Namalomba has now broken the government’s silence, insisting the World Bank approved the reallocation.

He said the bank transferred the funds directly from Washington to Zambia, with no Malawian institution handling the money.

His remarks follow social media claims that the government redirected the funds without following the required procedures.

The controversy emerged during an engagement between Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC).

Namalomba said the maize purchase was intended to strengthen Malawi’s food supplies and support vulnerable households amid food insecurity.

However, the account cites two figures, more than four million households and 2.4 million households in the 2025 MVAC report, which require clarification to establish the exact number of households affected.