The National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) has come out swinging against what it calls “deliberate misinformation,” rubbishing social media claims that MK5.8 billion was earmarked for 11 pastors under a non-existent “Presidential Initiative on Sustainable Community Empowerment.”
In a strongly worded statement issued recently, NEEF likened the viral press release to smoke without fire, calling it both fraudulent and misleading. The alleged release, dated June 20, 2025, has been making rounds online, claiming that the mammoth sum would be disbursed to religious leaders through a NEEF-led programme. But as NEEF puts it, this is nothing more than “fiction dressed as fact.”
NEEF categorically denied ever receiving any funding for such a “Community Empowerment” programme, stating clearly that no such initiative exists within its framework. The Fund further clarified that it has never given out loans to any pastors, religious groups, or individual clergymen under any programme.
“If wishes were horses, liars would ride,” the statement seems to suggest, as NEEF insists that the forged release was designed to mislead the public and smear the institution’s reputation.
As a government-owned financial body, NEEF says it operates on the backbone of transparency, accountability, and fairness. Its support targets a broad range of Malawians—from youth and women to people with disabilities and faith-based leaders—without bias. Every loan application, the Fund says, goes through a rigorous due diligence process, ensuring that public funds are managed like a farmer guarding his granary from hungry goats.
In its conclusion, NEEF urged the public to disregard the “false and damaging” claims and to rely only on its official communication channels. The Fund also issued a warning: those spreading falsehoods about NEEF risk facing legal consequences.
At a time when misinformation spreads faster than wildfire in the dry season, NEEF’s statement is a call for vigilance and truth—a reminder that not everything that glitters on social media is gold.
