Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has contradicted some of the testimony budget director Paul Mphwiyo gave when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday in the ongoing cashgate inquiry.
Among other things, Mphwiyo, who was shot in September this year in Area 43 in connection with the scandal, told PAC that he initiated a letter to MRA advising the authority to consider claiming taxes from some companies that were claiming billions of kwacha from government.
Mphwiyo was outlining the steps he took, in what he claimed, fighting corruption in government, a reason President Joyce Banda claimed led to his shooting.
But a member of PAC confided in Weekend Nation that MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick told the committee that Mphwiyo did not tell the whole truth on the originality of the letter that discussed taxing companies that were claiming billions of kwacha in arrears from government.
The member, who chose not to be mentioned, said Bizwick told the committee that it was actually MRA that wrote the letter to Treasury.
“Bizwick told the committee that the said letter was written by MRA asking government not to give some of the companies’ full amount as they claimed because they were also owing government in taxes,” said the MP.
Another member of PAC corroborated the information, saying: “Mr Bizwick said the MRA started discussing the issues of deducting money from some companies that were making claims from government long time before Mphwiyo was appointed budget director.
“So, it could not have been true that it was Mphwiyo who initiated the letter. Mphwiyo lied to the committee, he lied under oath,” he said.
The source said upon realisation that Mphwiyo lied under oath, the committee has resolved that he must be recalled to account for the statement he made during the first meeting.
“The committee is disappointed that Mphwiyo lied under oath. It was disappointing to note that Mphwiyo tried to make a fool of the committee. We noted that Mphwiyo lied on a number of points and we want him to come back,” said the member.
Another member said the committee was stressed up with the accusations it has received from the public on how it handled Mphwiyo.
“It is more confusing now. As a committee we are only trying to gather as much information as possible on the cashgate issue. We have made the hearing on this matter public so that the public can judge for themselves what officers are saying,” said the source.
Neither Mphwiyo nor Biswick’s phone could be reached yesterday but chairperson of the committee Beatrice Mwangonde refused to divulge details on the matter only saying PAC is compiling information on the cashgate and it is going to present a report in Parliament.
“We are going to make recommendations to government and it is up to the implementing agencies of government to act on the report,” she said.
