MCP wants Cashgate report first, budget later
Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Member of Parliament (MP) Vitus Dzoole Mwale has demanded that a report into the plunder of government resources dubbed Cashgate should be tabled in Parliament before the budget.
Minister of Finance, Ecoomic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe is this Friday expected to table a provisional budget for July to October, but it would not be accompanied by a financing statement for 2013/14 financial year until September when he will present a full budget.
In his contribution to the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Peter Mutharika last week Tuesday, Dzoole Mwale said when the report is presented, the Minister of Finance must account for how money was spent and utilised in the past year when K13 billion was siphoned from government through various means.
He said: “We on the MCP side recommend that the report on Cashgate should be number one then the budget. The Minister of Finance should also account for the money before another budget is approved.”
In response, Gondwe said forensic auditors from the United Kingdom, Baker Tilly, had met with officials from Ministry of Finance and had promised to come up with a fresh report by August.
The report, unlike the previous one submitted to the former parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), would contain names of individuals and companies who took part in Cashgate.
“Names which were concealed will be known and Parliament will discuss it. As the President said, there will be no sacred cows. All will be revealed and we won’t desist from discussing it,” Gondwe said.
The past PAC chaired by Beatrice Mwangonde prepared a report on Cashgate which included a preliminary report on fraud that took place in 2010 which found that K92 billion was lost through various means.
The reports were not tabled because the House failed to meet until it was dissolved on March 20, 2014.
Various commentators have expectations that the reports would be adopted by the current Parliament but PAC has not been instituted yet.
Mr Honourable Dzoole, as much as I understand the importance of handling the cashgate issue in order to bring all those involved to book, I think we need to be reasonable here. It is important that you approve the budget first to move the country forward than dwell on cashgate issues which might last years and years without tangible results. From your own previous experience, haven’t you seen treason cases, theft cases involving big wigs etc, trailing forever without any tangible conclusions!!!?? The same might happen to this; and you will be just losing time instead of doing important businesses. Will this be like Section 65 first, then budget later style? Just ask the Finance Minister please to assure the house that he will indeed table the Cashgate issue later while the govt is moving forward. We urgently need drugs in our hospitals, good roads in our areas, ……..etc. and not phokoso in our parliament. Pls propose or oppose reasonably as we are all relying on you out here. Bravo MCP!!!!!!
Ha! inu a Dzoole kuganiza kwanu kobwerera! Budget is very important because sercies need to rune , people need to be paid, cashgate inchitgika all we want is to find out what happened and recoup as much of that money as possible. Evene mwana can see what is urgent and importnat here! Did you know that a lot of the civil servants in Malawi have stayed months without pay? kungoti a Malawi ndi anthu opilila akankhala ngati madziko enawa kukankhala ma riot!people working for months! with no pay! Ndiye inu mukuti ayambire cash agate!
Now I can see why MCP did not win the election ! your decision making is a bit suspect!
Iwe dzoola ndiwedi zoola eti waiwala kuti JZU Tembo anakakamira section 65 m’malo mwa budget. zinachitika ndi chiani ndimayesa unalipo nthawi imene ija? ndiwe mbuzi eti. kumeneko mkumati kuyankhula mnyumba ya malamulo.