House committee recalls AG on K560m claim

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has recalled the Auditor General to explain his endorsement of the K560 million interest claim to a Malawi Police Service (MPS) supplier.

Pioneer Investments Limited is claiming K560 million as interest on a K2.3 billion contract to supply food rations to MPS.

But while the Inspector General (IG) of Police Lexten Kachama says there is no merit to pay the interest as it did not form part of the contract, the Auditor General verified the arrears and gave the Secretary to the Treasury (ST) a go ahead to effect payment to the company.

Following the appearance before the committee of the Auditor General, the ST and the IG, PAC chairperson Alekeni Menyani said in an interview there was conflicting information on the issue.

“We found that there is a lot of conflicting information that these officers were giving. We found there was a lot of information that in one way or another did not come out. Either it was withheld or was simply not available that I cannot ascertain at this moment,” he said yesterday.

Menyani said that the Auditor General had unearthed more documentation which he wanted to submit before the committee and it has obliged.

Officials from Pioneer Investments will also be given a chance to make a submission on the contract and back the K560 million interest claim.

Attorney General Charles Mhango, who failed to appear before the committee on Saturday, is also expected to do so today to explain the contracts and how the lawyer for the government was handling it.

The Attorney General is also expected to clarify what should have been more binding, the contract which did not provide for interest payments or the invoice which demanded interest payment but the police has refused to honour.