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The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) has instituted bankruptcy proceedings against former Minister of Agriculture Leonard Mangulama, who is now chairman of bank-benchers in Parliament, on allegations that he has failed to pay close to K1 million which he owes the agency after he got maize on credit between 1999 and 2000.
Court records indicated that the bankruptcy proceedings were filed Monday by NFRA lawyer Tamando Chokotho after Mangulama failed to honour a February 9 High Court ruling which ordered the former minister to settle a debt of K924,057 which he owes the food agency, one percent interest based on Commercial Bank’s lending rates and costs of the court action.
Mangulama is reported to have been trading as Southern Multi-Trading Investment at the time he got the NFRA debt.
The records also indicate that the chairman of the backbenchers has failed to bring forward a counter-claim or cross-demand NFRA’s claim.
“You are specially to note that the consequences of not complying with the requisitions of this notice are that you will have committed an act of bankruptcy on which bankruptcy proceedings may be taken against you,” said the record.
Mangulama has been given 14 days to challenge the proceedings.
Former president Bakili Muluzi fired Mangulama from the agriculture portifolio in August, 2002 when an Anti-Corruption Bureau report on the sale of the NFRA maize indicated he obtained 300 metric tonnes but did not pay for it.
Last week, a diplomat at the Malawi mission in Tanzania Weston Kanjira admitted before the High Court in Blantyre that he owes the NFRA more than K20 million in unpaid maize bills. He agreed to pay back the debt.
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