Malawi was taken by storm in November last year when the government signed a deal purportedly worth US$6.8-billion at a high-profile state launch with a Belgian registered private foundation – Bridgin. | amaBhungane
A shadowy Belgian foundation with undisclosed funders, it claims are old Jewish philanthropists, has dangled a"grant" for Malawi twice the size of the country’s national budget.
The grant is more than double the 2022/23 national budget and nearly 60% of the country’s gross domestic product . According to the announcement, the $6.8 billion would fund construction of major projects which include a power plant to produce 1 000 megawatts – three times Malawi’s current capacity – which would resolve the country’s intermittent power supply. 'Stop sabotaging sovereign countries': Russia, China take pot shots at US over Democracy Summit
Outside the state euphoria, there was also an air of scepticism; many were hearing of Bridgin for the first time, yet it was pledging what would be 12 times the combined contribution of conventional foreign donors to Malawi’s annual development. According to its certificate of incorporation, Bridgin Foundation was registered on 18 November 2014 in Belgium as a private foundation under the management of four directors.
Both the Court and National Bank of Belgium confirmed that Bridgin Foundation has not filed these accounts since establishment. The Court issued an attestation letter dated 8 March 2023 confirming that it had never received annual accounts from Bridgin. Presented with these findings, Mouhamadou, in a recorded interview with our Belgian partners, claimed they had filed accounts and promised to share copies, but ended up emailing a tax compliance certificate for 2018.
Mouhamadou, in the recorded interview, stressed that for security reasons Bridgin did not have to disclose where all its offices were, and would likewise not share its number of employees. In written responses, Mouhamadou also refused to provide a list of projects brokered by Bridgin and the companies involved.
He said these funders were advanced in age and did not really care about a return on their investment. "The Ambassador receives the list of projects and makes sure to promote Israeli companies in the projects we finance. So, he is fully in his role as Ambassador. So having private donors is totally compatible with having private Israeli companies." In the interview, Mouhamadou used this claimed Jewish/Israeli connection as justification for Bridgin’s lack of disclosure.
A grant, under the Public Finance Management Act in Malawi, is defined as a gift or financial contribution which does not require repayment. Unlike other donors who provide grants to Malawi, Bridgin Foundation had its travelling and accommodation expenses paid for, prior to signing the contract. We are not asking for a sovereign guarantee, we are not asking for a bank guarantee and we are not asking the State to pay us. On the other hand, when we arrived, the State accommodated us at the Presidential Villa in Lilongwe and that's it.
Liberian presidential press secretary Isaac Solo Kelgbeh, in response to inquiries from amaBhungane, referred us back to Bridgin. Uganda signed a $500-million grant in April 2022 – following discussions which started in 2020.
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