State House has admitted that President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika hired a chartered plane to Dubai en-route to New York for the 70th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
This has been confirmed in Press Statement made available to FaceofMalawi signed by Presidential Press Officer Chikondi Juma.
The statement has however; trashed media reports especially Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) that the President used Bombardier BD700-1A10 Global Express registration Number OE-IGS owned by UK Private Jet Charter costing government money not less than K200 million, saying that is not true.
“State House would like to inform Malawians that it is not true that the Air Craft that the President used to travel to Dubai en-route to New York is a Bombardier BD700-1A10 Global Express registration Number OE-IGS owned by UK Private Jet Charter as reported by ZBS. The truth is that His Excellency the President traveled on a Global Express Registration Number OE-IGS, owned by the Execu-Jet of South Africa.
“Malawians should also be informed that it is not true that the jet is all this time accumulating more charges as it is parked in Dubai waiting to take the President back to Lilongwe as reports suggest,” reads in part the statement.
Add the statement: “The truth of the matter is that the booking that was made for the Lilongwe-Dubai flight was a drop off. This means that the Aircraft returned to its base as soon as the President landed in Dubai and the allegation that the aircraft is accumulating millions of Kwacha in a form of waiting charges, are baseless and untrue.”
The statement has further attacked ZBS and the media in general of miss informing the general public on the matter, saying the recent kind of reportage by the media in Malawi is counterproductive, retrogressive, unpatriotic and regrettable.
“The media should be aware that misrepresentation of facts, deliberate attempts to twist the truth and sensationalism is bad for media’s reputation and credibility.
“The President, therefore is appealing to the media to jealously safeguard the profession and play its rightful role by not allowing to be dragged into political vendettas and the newly launched campaign of misinformation against him personally and his government,” reads the statement in part.
Meanwhile government has urged the general to ignore any media reports on this matter, because they are wrong, untrue and which the architects of these reports, are aiming at inciting resentment of peaceful Malawians against the President and his DPP led government.
