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DPP drafts Chaponda, Dausi in PAC

Dausi: Now in PAC
Dausi: Now in PAC

Malawi’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has thrown in bigwigs Nicholas Dausi and George Chaponda into the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament which is scheduled to interview the newly appointed Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) deputy director on a date yet to be announced.

Their membership is effective last Friday.

The two swap with Mulanje North parliamentarian Stephen Namacha and Chizalo Peter Mangulenje of Zomba Chisi who were on Media and Education committees of the House respectively.

Confirming the reports in an interview on Tuesday, Namacha said he only learnt of the swap during Speaker of Parliament Henry Chimunthu-Banda’s announcements before Parliament rose last Friday.

“Actually, the party (DPP) in conjunction with the Speaker’s office had communicated to me in writing only that I hadn’t yet checked my pigeon hole [mail box] at the Chamber by the time the announcement was made,” said Namacha.

President Joyce Banda appointed former administrator general Reyneck Matemba as ACB deputy director a fortnight ago after the graft-busting body terminated the contracts of its two deputy directors in Victor Banda and Davie Nyamirandu, citing the two had reached the bureau’s retirement age of 55.

The appointment of Matemba also came at a time when the President reshuffled several top public officers in the wake of the cash-gate which has since siphoned over K110 billion out of government coffers.

However, the final seal to Matemba’s appointment depends on the scrutiny by PAC, where Dausi and Chaponda are now members.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Chaponda, who is also DPP chief whip in Parliament, dismissed any politics in the changes.

“There is nothing sinister whatsoever; nothing political. Committee membership changes,” he said.

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