Experts urge probe into PP funding

As the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and police continue to pounce on suspects in the plunder of public funds, analysts say there is need for investigations to establish whether the governing People’s Party (PP) is the ultimate beneficiary of the money.

The suspected mastermind of the massive theft of government money, businessperson Oswald Lutepo, is PP deputy director for recruitment, raising questions whether he was a conduit for the party’s war chest ahead of the 2014 Tripartite Elections.

Chancellor College law lecturer Garton Kamchedzera proposed a separate investigation into the link between the looting and PP funding for the elections.

“As a citizen, all these arrests are cosmetic if they do not reveal where these funds go. We need to know whatever politicians do and what their sources of money are,” said Kamchedzera.

He said Malawi could take advantage of the offer by donors to assist the country with investigations into the scandal by asking for an international commission of inquiry to yield credible results instead of using local inquiries that do not achieve anything.

“This commission could come from the Commonwealth or any international body to establish the link between stealing government coffers and political party funding,” he said.

But executive director of the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI), Rafiq Hajat, said Malawi needs to clean its own act without involving outsiders because the country knows what the issues are.

“It is obviously the plundering of State resources to fund political parties. How would we choose between the British, Americans or Norwegians? What right does any of them have to dictate to us how to run our affairs?” queried Hajat.

He said a contribution of K50 000 and above should be registered as a donation and parties need to account for the donations.

“Political parties are required to provide audited accounts to the Registrar of Political Parties. So far, it is only one party, Aford that has complied. It is a requirement to provide these audited accounts for the benefit of parliamentary funding.

PP secretary general Paul Maulidi said the party would not oppose an investigation into the issue because it has nothing to hide.

“We have an account and we know where our money comes from,” said Maulidi.