Despite criticism from all corners, President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and his government has gone ahead with the sale of the state owned Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) and Indebank to National Bank at MK9.5 billion.

The sale comes barely a week after the passing of the 2015/16 national budget presented in the August house by Minister of Finance and Economic Development Goodall Gondwa.

Last month, President Mutharika suspended the sale of the State owned Bank, calling for the review of the whole process.

With the look of things, Mutharika suspended the sale to allow parliament to pass the budget without hassles as Opposition Members threatened to shoot down the budget.

Confirming the sale in statement from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) signed by Presidential Press Secretary Gerald Viola, said Mutharika has endorsed the sale upon after listening to the public debate on the matter.

“His Excellency the State President, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, after listening to the public debate and, after balancing all matters surrounding the proposed sale of the Malawi Savings Bank, the President, based on powers conferred on him by the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, has decided that the Malawi Government should sell part of its shares in Malawi Savings Bank.

“In view of this decision, the Government shall proceed to sell seventy-five percent (75%) of its shares to the winning bidder and reserve the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) for the public. The general public is, therefore, assured that the sale of the Government shares in MSB shall not, in any way, result in closures of any branches currently operating through-out the country,” reads in part of the statement.

Meanwhile members of Parliament have described the move as betrayal and a daylight robbery.