The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) says it cannot stop delegates at its forthcoming third All-Inclusive Stakeholders’ Conference to call for the resignation of President Joyce Banda if the ongoing forensic audit will link her name to the Capital Hill looting.
PAC sources this week confided in The Nation that as was the case during former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika’s time, the inter-faith civil society grouping would not stand in the way of the delegates to the conference to propose the resignation of the President.
Said the source: “The conference will seek, among other issues, to examine the radical view that JB should consider to resign given the magnitude of the looting. The cash-gate scandal is a shameful act by all standards and we can’t predict the outcome of the conference.
“The issue is that we want the forensic audit not to be doctored and we want the forensic report that will be produced to be implemented to its full potential and if the forensic audit will link JB to the cashgate, she should consider resigning.
“It is also our belief that the ‘big fish’ are many and we are wondering why only [former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs] Ralph Kasambara was arrested as a suspect. The law should be applied to all officials irrespective of their positions. The conference will also look into the issue of how government was handling the cashgate scandal through arrests.”
But PAC executive director Robert Phiri on Tuesday this week said his organisation believes that there is need to have a thorough follow-up on the cashgate crisis and that most Malawians do not feel that the forensic exercise would yield the desired results.
He said there is fear that some senior officers in government who might have been involved in the massive looting of public resources will not be brought to book and that the process might die a natural death as the country approaches elections next year.
Said Phiri: “Our view is that previously, we acted against open and third term constitutional amendments and during the past regime, we held the State machinery accountable by placing demands. In this case, why should we fail to hold ourselves and leaders accountable?
“It is the view of PAC that, as an organisation, we should not stoop so low by compromising our watch-dog role. The plan will proceed without hindrance. We will also invite representatives from State machinery. There is no hidden agenda.”
On the possible calls for the President to resign, Phiri said: “PAC will provide a forum for people to freely express themselves. Let people demand what they want to demand rather than oppressing divergent views. Whether the demands made are feasible or not is another question.”
He said all the recommendations from the conference to be held under the theme ‘Malawi at crossroads: Enhancing transformative leadership through holding leaders and ourselves accountable’ would be presented to the State machinery after the conference, although PAC as a grouping would not influence any decision or expected outcome.
“However, it must be understood that we cannot predetermine the outcome of the conference apart from knowing that we would like to enhance broad-based dialogue so that we have a unified appreciation and direction as we approach 2014 Tripartite Elections.
“Our goal is to influence policy and transformative leadership based on the previous conferences. Our position as PAC has never changed. We will always intervene when we see the direction of our country is hazy,” he said.
According to a concept document for the conference, which The Nation managed to see, PAC expects an enhanced common understanding on the cashgate scandal and make resolutions aimed at pressuring government to remain on track.
Reads the document in part: “These will be beefed by raising a single voice on the crisis so that the public is guided in terms of its expectations. The major gap at the moment is that few people appreciate processes and how complex prosecution can be.”
It says the corruption and fraud crisis at Capital Hill confirms PAC’s findings from the previous conferences that political responsibility and accountable leadership was lacking in the country.
“This calls for transformative leadership through sustained advocacy and building an informed society for quality leadership. The core problem identified based on recent PAC activities is the lack of transformative, accountable and responsive leadership in Malawi which funnels in all key sectors of the economy-which is compounded by the Malawi’s political culture and systems,” it reads.
People’s Party deputy publicity secretary Ken Msonda said the party would be at pains to comment on the anticipated resignation calls because nobody knows the outcome of the forensic audit.
Msonda, however, said there were valid reasons that led to the conference that demanded for the resignation of the late Mutharika and that “possibly” there were reasons for PAC to call for another meeting of a similar type.
Said Msonda: “We do not know the type of people who will be delegates at the PAC conference so that we may comment on their ability to understand complex issues that the forensic audit may unravel. I would, therefore, expect that no one will push recommendations on the delegates, even before they deliberate.
“We do not have to set recommendations as an agenda, otherwise people will judge us wrongly on what our motives may be. It will be incumbent on PAC to direct delegates to discuss the matters as they will be and not be prejudiced.”
Msonda said the President has shown determination to root out fraud and corruption which was entrenched in the government system for a long time and that Malawians are capable of judging her sincerity.
During PAC’s first All-Inclusive Stakeholders’ Conference in March 2012, delegates gave Mutharika 60 days to resign or call for a referendum on his leadership within 90 days. Mutharika’s administration faced various challenges, including poor governance and economic management which saw the country experiencing acute shortages of foreign exchange, fuel and other necessities.
Mutharika died on April 5 2012, barely three weeks after the ultimatum.
