AHL Group warehouse in ashes after mysterious fire
Beleaguered major tobacco company AHL Group, caught up in a K44 billion government bail-out scandal, had its warehouse for gutted by mysterious fire at Kanengo Industrial Site in Lilongwe on Saturday afternoon.
The fire is believed to have been ‘organised’ by AHL Group bosses as the rope is tighten close on their necks following revelations that government has bailed them out of a whopping K44 billion loss incurred under their watch two years ago.
AHL through its spokesperson Teresa Ndanga confirmed the warehouse gutted is for one of its subsidiaries TIL Limited which specialises in rhwandling tobacco, selling hessian sacks and the purchase of agriculture products.
Ndanga said the company is investigating “the cause of the fire” and that an assessment is also underway “to estimate the worth of the property we lost.”
Lilongwe Fire Brigade station officer Amin Katesefu confirmed that the fire started late Saturday afternoon at the warehouse where is it believed that some items were burnt to ashes.
But sources say the fire was organised.
“The issue is that AHL Group did not have the actual goods in the warehouse than what they had on paper and the best way of covering this up was through fire. Most of the bosses at AHL Group knew that there was going to be a fire today,” said a source privy to the story of the K44 billion financial loss at AHL Group.
“In this case, AHL Group will tell their insurers the goods that were in the warehouse which was in fact not in their warehouse but in their papers and they will be happy they have covered this,” he said.
AHL Group has been embroiled in the K44 billion financial loss which prompted a local bank to put on sale its two tobacco auction floors, Mzuzu and Chinkhoma.
Nyasa Times can reveal that government has bailed out AHL Group in a K44 billion loss to save the selling of Mzuzu and Chinkhoma floors to interested members if the general public.
The financial problems that AHL Group is facing now are said to have been masterminded by AHL Group Chief Executive Officer Evance Matabwa, a close relation to President Peter Mutharika, by diverting some cash resources to the ruling DPP hence the bail out by government.
AHL group which wholly owns Malawi Leaf Compnay, TIL Limited, Agriculture Trading Company (ATC), AHL Chemicals and Steel-Limited and AHL Commodities Exchange, was formerly known as Auction Holdings Limited until February , 2015.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
hehehehe ameneyo ndiye Peter Chibwatiko Mutharika. sitinati tiona zoopsya ndi mbala imeneyi
Malawi today.
THIS YOUNG MATABWA HAS MISMANAGED AHL GROUP BIG TIME. WE KNOW HE LACKED THE REQUIRED EXPERIENCE WHEN HE TOOK OVER AS CEO AND THESE RESULTS WERE EXPECTED ANYWAY.THERE WERE QUALIFIED PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO COULD HAVE MANAGED THE GROUP WELL BUT SELFISHNESS AND NEPOSTIC TENDENCIES OF THE MUTHALIKA FAMILY IS TO BLAME. OBVIOUSLY MATABWA WILL HAVE TO GO ONCE DR CHAKWERA TAKES OVER GOVERNMENT FROM HIS OLD AGED UNCLE PETER MUTHALIKA.
Parliament needs to take government to task over this AHL bail out, they bail it out but senior managers are still there ? Where did they get this money to bail out AHL from? Has something or some project suffered out of this bail out? Which one? Who are these institutions that AHL is owing these billions to? Any familiar suspects/companies? Is AHL revenue really not enough to pay their own bills? Is there fraud? Who are the suspects? Is it mismanagement? Our parliament should really have these answers or else government will simply bailing out institutions that are supposed… Read more »
Matters is not a close relaxation to Mutharika family. They just come from the same area.
This is nit an investigative journal. If you want to know the close relatives if Mutharika go to Chimvu
The Matabwas are cousins of the Mutharikas. Do you remember the Dr Matabwa who was, for a short stint, erstwhile joint Chief Secretary to OPC with Bright Msaka during Bingu’s time? Same blood.
Pleas gather your facts boss..they may have the same surname but not blood….Dr Matabwa is a thorough Gentleman and a role model to the youth of this country….
Now I understand why we are called “FLAMES” !
Do we have credible journalists who can investigate the trend of gutting offices whenever someone is in trouble. Is this cover up? Remember Escom? I smell a rat here. This country needs people like King Josiah of the bible. People go unpunished when they commit these crimes that’s why this will never stop
Kupatsa udindo waukulu kwa anthu omwe ngakhale banja sakwanitsa kulisamala ndi izi lero tikuluza nazo chuma cha dziko.I don’t think that, we will go forward with this government if DPP.
How long will this kind of treachery and treason continue? Who authorizes bail outs?
MALAWI THE WARM HEART OF AFRICA NOW ??? NO ! NO ! NO !
MAY BE WHEN KAMUZU WAS RULING THE COUNTRY !! THESE MULTIPARTY CROOKS /LEADERS DESERVE HELL FIRE !