Amaryllis Hotel in heart of Blantyre CBD
* Also investigate the full record sorrounding the withdraw of the sale transaction made by the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) Board on January 17, 2024
* Examine compliance with prudential regulatory warnings issued on December 23, 2025 and January 6, 2026; former-rbm-governor-mafuta-mwale-raised-profound-financial-regulatory-red-flags-on-proposed-sale-of-amaryllis-hotel-at-exorbitant-k148-billion/
* Recommends an immediate stay on any further financial disbursement pending a comprehensive forensic audit into valuation methodology, advisory independence and fudiciary compliance
By Duncan Mlanjira
The furore sorrounding the proposed sale of Amaryliss Hotel by the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) takes a new twist as stakeholders, as the National Anti-Corruption Alliance, (NACA) and National Advocasy Platform (NAP), have petitioned the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to constitute its mandate by investigating the matter fully.
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The petition — issued today, February 20, 2026, chairpersons, for Michael Kaiyatsa for NACA and Benedicto Kondowe for NAP and copied to President Arthur Peter Mutharika through the Chief Secretary to the Government and to Speaker of the National Assembly — is demanding that the PSPTF Board, its Investment Managers, the Attorney General (AG) and the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) should appear before the Public Accounts Committee to testify under oath over the sale transaction of the Amaryliss Hotel.
The Parliamentary Committee, which is constitutionally mandated to safeguard public resources and ensure accountability in the management of public funds, is also being asked to investigate the full record sorrounding the withdraw of the sale transaction made by the PSPTF Board on January 17, 2024.
And to examine compliance with prudential regulatory warnings issued on December 23, 2025 and January 6, 2026; former-rbm-governor-mafuta-mwale-raised-profound-financial-regulatory-red-flags-on-proposed-sale-of-amaryllis-hotel-at-exorbitant-k148-billion/.
NACA and NAP also recommend “an immediate stay on any further financial disbursement pending a comprehensive forensic audit into valuation methodology, advisory independence and fudiciary compliance”.
“What unfolding around the proposed acquisition of Amaryliss Hotel is not merely a commercial disagreement, it concerns the possible exposure of the retirement savings of thousands of teachers, nurses, police officers and civil servants to a transaction that has attracted serious prudential, fiduciary and governance concerns.”
The petition takes note that Subscription and Asset Sale Agreement for the hotel was signed on November 17, 2025 at a consideration of MK128.75 billion, following a Board resolution of October 25, 2025 — empowering the Investment Committee to conclude the transaction.
“The matter is now associated with figures reaching approximately MK147 billion, raising grave questions about valuation discipline and investment prudence,” argue the petitioners.
“Public statement have suggested that there was no evidence that a previous Board had rejected the transaction. However, records show that at the 5th extraordinary Board of Trustees meeting held on January 17, 2024, it was resolved to withdraw from the AmaryllisHotel purchase after professional advice that the investment was not viable at approximately MK47 billion.
“Yet the transaction re-emerged. Correspondence dated March 7, 2024 and March 18, 2024 indicated renewed commitment to pursue the acquisition, and on May 18, 2024, a fresh investment analysis was submitted supporting viability over a long-term horizon.”
The petitioners further take cognizance that on December 28, 2025, the Attorney General (AG), “while not confirming all allegations, nonetheless advised the Board, because of the magnitude of the transaction and out of caution, to review the attendant risks and satisfy itself regarding mitigation mechanisms before proceeding in order to protect members’ savings”.
“There is, however, no clear evidence that these safeguards were implemented before the transaction continued,” says the petition and brings to the attention of the Parliamentarians “the critical question, to ask: ‘What materially changed between January 17, 2024, when the deal was declared unenviable, and November 17, 2025, when it was concluded at nearly three times the original valuation, and where the safeguards advised by the Attorney General actually implemented before the transaction proceeded?’
“The valuation trajectory is deeply troubling. In June 2023, the hotel was valued in the region of MK47-48.7 billion. Independent property valuations in July 2023 ranged between K78 billion and MK83 billion — yet the final agreement signed on November 2025 fixed consideration at MK128.75 billion.
“Regulatory authorities later warned in communications dated December 23, 2025 and January 6, 2026 that proceeding with the transaction was likely to breach investment limits and create a serious liquidity mismatch and concentration risk in a systematically important pension fund, potentially jeopardising members’ benefits in the pension system.
“In view of the foregoing, the Committee is invited to interrogate how a prudentually regulated pension fund justified committing members’ retirement savings to a transaction whose price escalated dramatically despite explicit regulatory warnings of financial risk.”
The petitioners also highlight that “the sequence of events raises further concerns,” in that on October 25, 2025, the Board empowered the Investment Committee to conclude the transaction; that on October 27, 2025, the Principal officer was suspended over matters linked to the same transaction; that on November 17, 2025, the agreement was signed.
And that on November 19, 2025, serious public concerns were raised regarding irregular decision making, possible conflicts of interest, and pressure on a newly-constituted Board; malawi-law-society-raises-reg-flags-on-proposed-acquisition-of-a-hotel-by-public-service-pension-trust-fund/.
Former RBM Governor Dr. McDonald Mafuta Mwale raised the red flags on January 6, 2026
“Investigations have further suggested that many commitments and correspondence relating to the acquisition were undertaken through administrative actions rather than clear Board resolutions, raising concern about whether proper governance procedures were followed.
“Against this background, the [Public Appointments] Committee is invited to determine whether the trustees were allowed to exercise independent fiduciary judgement, or whether the transaction was accelerated through administrative pressure and procedural irregularities that compromised proper governance of the pension fund.”
The petitioners brings to the attention of the Parliamentarians that terms such as ‘liquidity mismatch’ and ‘concentration risk’ translate into a simple fear for the ordinary public servant; ‘will my pension be safe’?
“The retirement security of Malawian public servants must not be subordinated to opaque investment decisions whose prudence remains seriously contested,” emphasises the petitioners.
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