Chikaonda urges cashgate inquiry

Former minister of Finance and Economic Planning Matthews Chikaonda has proposed the setting up of a commission of inquiry into the financial scandal involving looting, theft and corruption at Capital Hill, the seat of government.

Chikaonda, who is the group chief executive officer of conglomerate Press Corporation Limited (PCL) and former governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), while making remarks on his corporation’s World Aids Day commemoration in Blantyre on Monday, said a commission of inquiry is the best way the country may know what actually transpired in the cashgate.

He claimed that the cashgate started when government removed all bank accounts it held at National Bank of Malawi (NBM), a subsidiary of PCL.

Said Chikaonda: “That nonsense [cashgate] would not have been allowed in National Bank. I am calling for a commission of inquiry and National Bank will be there to testify.”

And in an interview later, Chikaonda maintained his stand, saying NBM’s high levels of integrity and professionalism would not have allowed suspicious encashment that led to plundering of public resources.

Chikaonda described the cashgate as a disgrace, adding that Malawians need to have some level of anger.

He said: “It is a shame and disgrace that while people are dying in hospitals, and many others going without food, a few individuals can be amassing so much money to themselves, money belonging to taxpayers, the general public.

“As Malawians, we need to have a level of anger and indignation that says no more! These things should not happen again. People have to be indicted on these matters.”

He said while there are many efforts to address the cashgate, the commission of inquiry is an independent agency that will be doing investigations and it will not be government handling the matter as it is with the forensic audit currently underway.

Recently, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has been summoning people from both the public and private sector to explain their roles in the cashgate.

Besides the forensic audit being undertaken by experts from Britain and the National Audit Office (NAO), government has also formed a ministerial committee to monitor progress on all issues surrounding the plunder of public funds.

Last week, the Bankers Association of Malawi (BAM) blamed the cashgate on government’s failure to put in place internal controls that could have prevented its workers from siphoning money through private companies.

BAM’s reaction came in the context of allegations that businessperson Oswald Lutepo, who has been charged with money laundering, encashed a K1.2 billion cheque over the counter.