Karim Batatawala’s firm finds favor in a witnesses statement from the government side, the witness in the department of immigration and citizenship services uniforms case has undoubtedly confirms that Malawi Government owes Karim’s firm over 2 billion Malawi Kwacha.
Masauko Medi who happens to be the first witness for the defendant in that drugs on reliance Trading Company Limited and Africa Commercial Agency are the first and second claimant, respectively. While the Attorney General (Sulungwe), on behalf of Department of immigration and citizenship services, is the defendant.
Medi, who is serving as a witness admitted that on October 26 2015, first claimant Reliance Trading Company Limited wrote him to ask for a confirmation that the department owed them K2, 235, 961, 772.79.
In his words, Medi said “I refused to and advised them to put the same in writing rather a verbal communication”, the documents that avantmalawi has seen Indicates that Medi wrote back to the company Confirming that the quoted amount was really owed.
Medi disclosed that the claimant wrote him on 20 April 2016 requesting if the office will be held reliable if devaluation per proforma will be duly honored.
The said documents were presented before the high court for further reference.
Fast forward, Medi also concedes that the then Office of
Director of Public Procurement (ODPP), which
is now called Public Procurement and Disposal
of
Assets
Authority
(PPDA)
cleared
the
contracts as having followed procurement laws
through a ‘No Objection’.
Medi, however, only found it “shocking” that
his department instructed three suppliers at
the same time to supply uniforms worth over
MK12billion.
Medi joined the department in January 2015
after the contract was already been signed,
but some of the consignment from the
suppliers
arrived
while
he
was
at
the
institution.
The two companies argue that by failing to pay
for the uniforms and accessories already
supplied and refusing to clear with Malawi
Revenue Authority (MRA) as well as receive
new
consignments
as
per
contractual
obligations, the department has breached the
contract.
The claimants, therefore, want the court to
order the department to facilitate clearance of
the goods the subject matter of the aforesaid
contracts duty free; accept and take delivery of
the goods; and pay the contract price for the goods delivered pursuant to the afore said
contracts.
The suppliers also want the court to slap
compound
interest
on
the
outstanding
payment sat the prevailing commercial bank
lending rate on the contract price for the
period it shall wholly or partially remain
unpaid interms of the contract.
They
are
also
seeking
an
interlocutory
injunction order for preservation and /or safe
custody of the goods by the Department of
Immigration and Citizenship Services pending
final determination of the action herein plus
costs of the action.
Despite there being signed contracts and the
Department of Immigration admitting owing
the two suppliers, the Attorney General denies
having
entered
into
contract
with
the
Claimants.
The defendants, according to court documents,
even it were somehow established that the said
contracts do exist, the defendant plant or argue
before judge Ken Manda that they two
companies took too long to supply.
By failing to supply with in reasonable time,
argues the defendant, “the Defendant will
contend
that
the
2012
contracts
got terminated through effluxion of reasonable
time and therefore there was no contract at the
time of delivery of uniforms.”
However, the claimants argue that for some
time they could not supply
because the
department was not honouring payments as
per
the
contracts,
staying
months
and
some times years without clearing out standing
bills, which made it difficult for the companies
to order more.