OPC dodgy on abused K6bn funds
Two years after an audit report exposed that part of the K6.2 billion Covid-19 response package in 2021 was abused, the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) and the Malawi Police Service (MPS) are yet to give progress on the matter.
OPC on Thursday said some cases on the matter are being pursued by the Malawi Police Service (MPS) and the Ministry of Justice is expected to vet disciplinary charges for senior officers deemed to have committed offences.
OPC chief communications officer Robert Kalindiza said there were three categories of officers implicated in the issue: those cleared of wrong-doing after a committee of PSs led by Secretary to Treasury examined their cases and government reinstated them.
The other group is of those who were found to have committed offences which required the responsible officers to draft disciplinary charges, and have them vetted by the Ministry of Justice.
Said Kalindiza: “Disciplinary proceedings will be instituted after Ministry of Justice has done its part.”
According to Kalindiza, the third group is of those suspected to have committed criminal offences and their issues are being handled by law enforcement agencies.
He said the role of OPC is to follow up with Ministry of Justice on vetting the disciplinary charges while that of the law enforcement agencies is on fast-tracking criminal cases.
But in a brief WhatsApp response on Thursday, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Pirirani Masanjala said the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had no files on the cases, meaning that the Ministry of Justice was not vetting any disciplinary charges on any officer.
He said: “The police are the ones you should ask.”
Earlier, Masanjala told our sister newspaper The Nation that their understanding was that the cases were either under investigation or undergoing some preliminary enquiries.
National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, while confirming that the matters were being handled by police, said he needed time to check on their progress.
He said: “I can confirm that we made those arrests and we are the ones investigating and prosecuting the cases. For now, I cannot tell progress, I need to consult.”
Over 60 officers were arrested and released on bail, 34 district commissioners and city council chief executive officers as well as 10 principal secretaries (PSs) were interdicted, and later reinstated, with assurance that those in the wrong would be answering the queries while in office.
OPC has now said while some cases are being pursued by law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Justice is yet to vet disciplinary charges for senior officers deemed to have committed offences.
President Lazarus Chakwera on April 18 2021 dismissed former Labour Minister Ken Kandodo for spending K613 00 of Covid-19 funds for a foreign trip.
Besides, Chakwera said there would be no sacred cows, but more arrests and that people would pay back the money. He ordered interdiction of controlling officers and heads of law-enforcement agencies should bring to book those involved.
By August 2021, the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD) had finalised an assessment report and laid draft charges for disciplinary and criminal proceedings against some senior government officials. And the report had been submitted to OPC.
Findings of the investigative audit into the expenditure of K6.2 billion exposed loopholes in public finance management that drained K720 million through procurement flaws, irregular allowances, dubious claims and poor planning.
Malawi Local Government Association executive director Hadrod Mkandawire said in an interview that their investigations found that there were no interdictions.
He said: “If you look at the letters of interdiction and the letters recalling them (PSs, district commissioners and chief executive officers of cities) back to work, they have the same date. Basically, that in our considered view means there were no interdictions.”
Governance expert Mavuto Bamusi said the long delays in the handling of the matters represent a significant breakdown in accountability systems, arguing that it points to a high possibility that the funds were looted.
He said: “The delays also exist because there is a culture of shielding each other among top government officers. Funds were abused on the watch of senior politicians and Cabinet ministers who may be using their political power to drag the accountability processes.”
Bamusi then urged the citizenry to rise and demand action on the abused funds.
“Citizens should engage in public interest litigation and demand that concerned officials should answer in courts of law. Concerned officials must pay back abused funds and be demanded to resign because they betrayed the public and contributed to loss of lives,” he said.
On his part, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said government has not been serious in the fight against corruption and abuse of office.
“Many Malawians died because they couldn’t get medical care because government failed to safeguard resources to save them. We have a sleeping government that is too slow and so kind to punish individuals that are making it fail to function.
“We need government to be radical in making public officers accountable. We need Chakwera’s government to conclude the matter, so that whoever was suspected is taken to account. That can only happen if government is committed to ensuring justice on the matter,” he said.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira also said the delays only put to question Chakwera and his government’s commitment to stop the abuse of public resources.
“This delay does not give confidence in the fight against abuse of public resources. It also tells us that either government rushed in arresting the officers or is not sincere about this fight.
“Let them tell us whether they dropped charges for those arrested or not. The implications are that this may cost Malawians millions in compensations. Such a large scale plunder cannot go unpunished, is government glorifying impunity,” he asked.
