CSOs Won’t Cancel Demonstrations If Only One Institution Return NAC Funds

CSOs Won’t Cancel Demonstrations If Only One Institution Return NAC Funds 

Plans to hold national wide demonstrations demanding Beautify Malawi Trust (BEAM) and Mulhako Wa Alhomwe to refund money accessed from National Aids Commission (NAC) can never be cancelled if only one institution refunds the money.

Burnett Chinsinga who represented ten Business persons from Blantyre and Lilongwe, on Tuesday refunded K5 million that BEAM got from NAC. Chinsinga said by raising the money hoped that CSOs will cancel their planned January 13^th demonstrations because business people are concerned that such demonstrations may affect their businesses.

Chinsinga was in the company of chairperson of the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), Robert Mkwezalamba, the Health Rights and Education Programme (HREP) Executive Director, Maziko Matemba, and chairperson of the Right to Food Network, Billy Mayaya,

However NAC has rejected the money saying the businesspersons did not follow procedure of returning the money which is writing NAC and send the money through Treasury.

Trapence: We will cancel demonstrations if all institutions
return the funds to NAC

Centre for Development of People (CEDEP) one of five civil society organisations planning for the Anti-Nac gate demonstrations says CSOs shall cancel demonstrations only if ‘all’ institutions return the money before 13 January 2015.

CEDEP executive director Gift Trapence in his reaction to the attempts being made by concerned business persons said even if the group successfully returns the money on behalf of BEAM, still demonstrations will be on as planned because CSOs will be asking Mulhako to return the money.

“What we want to see is all the institutions returning the money to NAC” he said. “Because we want that money used for impact based activities”

While welcoming gesture by concerned business persons and encourage Mulhako to do the same, Trapence mentioned that had business person’s return the money to NAC for BEAM, CSOs would still have demanded a receipt indicating that NAC has received the returned money.

Trapence however said CSOs will be meeting on the incident to make official stand.

Meanwhile BEAM has maintained stand that they will never return the money because it was not given out as cash. BEAM said had the business persons consulted BEAM then BEAM could have instructed them not to refund the money.