Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo on Tuesday appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, stood his ground and successfully appealed to the sympathies and emotions of Members of Parliament (MPs).
During the long-awaited session, Mphwiyo successfully parried away questions about his wealth and links to suspects in his shooting on September 13 this year such as former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ralph Kasambara, Pika Manondo, Alex Namate and Oswald Lutepo.
Mphwiyo appeared before the committee dressed in a dark suit and looking full of life despite a slight swelling to the right side of his reconstructed jaw where two bullets penetrated.
Before making his presentation, Mphwiyo informed the committee of the intensity of pain he was experiencing, saying he had “taken a lot of painkillers to see me through.”
In explaining his role as budget director in the saga in which billions of government resources have been siphoned from Capital Hill, Mphwiyo on several occasions took responsibility for failure to put in place controls that would have prevented fraud and theft.
But Mphwiyo explained that it was his process of reverification of government arrears owed to service providers and suspension of payments following the check which might have irked some people.
Although he refused to link his shooting to this action, Mphwiyo said: “Personally, I tried to bring to light some anomalies such as arrears. If we had acted immediately, we would have avoided a lot of pain.”
He also successfully eluded questions linking him to President Joyce Banda and described as “nonsensical” allegations that he could mobilise suppliers within two months of his appointment and siphon money for the ruling People’s Party (PP).
Mphwiyo denied that his shooting had anything to do with a deal gone bad and distanced the President from any knowledge of people who might have wanted him dead.
But he confidently said he knew why he was shot and all would be revealed in court once the attempted murder case starts.
Repeated attempts from PAC members to explain his wealth, which includes a mansion in the upmarket low density residential estate of Area 43 in Lilongwe, were met with derision at the jealousy and envy of Malawians who could not believe a young man like him could accumulate such wealth.
Said Mphwiyo: “I can demonstrate that I have earned my money and can support my lifestyle. This country is full of jealousy and envy. I have business interests, I don’t just work for government.”
He challenged the committee to approach the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for details of his assets and business interests which he submitted when some people questioned how he accumulated his wealth.
Mphwiyo further appealed to the committee’s sympathy by saying he was perplexed at how people managed to siphon money without his knowledge.
But he still explained: “I had no privilege to see how ministries were spending the funds allocated to them.”
But it was his recollecting of the shooting, which started nonchalantly and ended with a shocked voice as he told the committee how he will live with two bullets in his body for the rest of his life, that stood out.
His concluding remarks, during which he thanked the committee for the opportunity to explain his story, were met with applause from some committee members.
