PAC wants action on Covid-19 funds suspects
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has demanded swift action on public officers who abused Covid-19 funds both under the initial K6.2 billion and the K17.8 billion allocations.
PAC’s reinstated chairperson Shadric Namalomba said in an interview that reports that there was no progress on cases against dozens of suspected civil servants were troublesome.
In April last year, several civil servants were arrested and these included district commissioners and chief executive officers (CEOs) of some city councils, but most of them ended up being reinstated and their cases fell out.
Namalomba said the K17.8 billion audit report which National Audit Office (NAO) said it issued was never brought before his parliamentary committee.
He said: “The sad part of it is that even our recommendations for the K6.2 billion Covid-19 funds are yet to be implemented. Way forward is for government to act on those that abused the funds under both audits.
“We do not have the luxury of time. People who abused taxpayer money should face the long arm of the law, regardless of what positions they hold or held.”
Namalomba said prosecuting authorities should not forget that so many Malawians succumbed to Covid-19 because hospitals could not cope with the situation due to lack of equipment which the nation could have bought if funds were not stolen.
National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, responding to reports that the cases have collapsed, said they still had some in court but was unable to tell the number of cases and at what stage the cases are.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Pirirani Masanjala said in a response to a questionnaire that their understanding was that the cases were either still under investigation or undergoing some preliminary enquiries.
He also confirmed that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had no files on the cases.
Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 co-chairperson Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma said in a response to a questionnaire that matters of arrest and meting out of justice are not in the jurisdiction of the task force, so he could not comment on the matter.
NAO spokesperson Rabson Kagwamminga said in a response to a questionnaire that pursuant to his mandate, as enshrined in Section 184 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi and the Public Audit Act, the Auditor General stepped in to conduct an investigative audit into the matter and a report thereof was issued.
He said: “The report was submitted to Parliament through the Minister of Finance with copies to the Office of the President and Cabinet in line with the provisions of the statutes above.
“As a parliamentary Auditor General, his mandate starts and ends at auditing and reporting to Parliament of which the Auditor General duly complied in the case on hand; though follow-up audits may be undertaken as and when required.”
Kagwamminga said NAO serves no judicial function but, when warranted, its findings may be passed to legal authorities or law enforcement agencies such as the Police, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the DPP for further action.
“This is usually the case under very special circumstances such as investigations like in this case. Hence, several arrests which followed the release of this report a couple of months back.
“Suffice to state, however, that the Auditor General does not necessarily need to refer his annual report to the enforcement agencies for them to take action,” he said.
The NAO spokesperson said it is incumbent upon the members of the public, including the law enforcement agencies such as the police and the ACB to follow through issues raised in the Auditor General’s reports and to pursue any concerns that they believe are justified.
President Lazarus Chakwera sanctioned an audit into the abuse of K6.2 billion Covid-19 relief funds on February 22 2021 following allegations of gross mismanagement of the same by the implementing State agencies.
