Servants stealing public funds through fuel, deceased staff

The Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament has asked Secretary to Treasury Newby Kumwembe to investigate concerns that some officers  at the Accountant General’s Office have allegedly been siphoning public funds by claiming monthly salaries for deceased staff and benefits of pensioners.

The committee also asked the Ministry of Finance to probe concerns that some civil servants across the country siphon public funds through encashment of funds loaded in fuel cards.

Meanwhile, the National Audit Office (NAO) on Thursday told Weekend Nation that they are already investigating the alleged malpractice, which they described as big.

Ministry of Finance officials were quizzed on these concerns on Wednesday when they appeared before the committee to update it on the effects of cashgate on the implementation of the 2013/14 National Budget.

The committee’s member Frazer Nihorya, who was once Deputy Minister of Finance during former president Bingu wa Mutharika’s rule, said the committee has information that files of some deceased civil servants have remained open at the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD) within the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) and that their names continue to draw salaries on government payroll.

“The information we have is that some staff at the Accountant General’s Office are able to link accounts of some civil servants and pensioners who are dead to their own accounts at commercial banks so that the salaries and pensions go into their accounts directly.

“Alternately, they are finding another person to open an account in the name of the deceased civil servant or pensioner and process a Malswitch card for that person so that he can get the money electronically without physically going into the bank to withdraw the money in order to avoid issues of identification,” said Nihorya.

He said government has been losing millions through such deals and asked the ministry to ensure all culprits are brought to book.

“This is another form of cashgate. Government is continuing to lose a lot of millions of funds through such channels.

“This matter needs to be properly investigated because there is a process which people in government are supposed to follow to discard files of those who are dead. Apparently, this process is not being followed. Files of civil servants who are dead are supposed to be discarded,” said Nihorya.

On fuel encashment, he said not all fuel funds government allocates in the national budget goes towards the intended purpose, saying some civil servants, including drivers have been encashing the fuel funds at filling stations.

“We understand that there is a 20 to 80 ratio which the civil servants use to share the money with attendants at filling stations. They get 80 percent of the cashed amount and the attendants deduct 20 percent.

“The ministry needs to come to the bottom of this matter to save government resources from being plundered,” said Nihorya.

Kumwembe’s team said they were caught unawares with the matter, hence they needed to investigate it before commenting.

In an e-mailed response on Thursday, NAO corporate communications officer Thomas Chafunya said their auditors are already investigating the matter, describing the malpractice as bigger in scope.

“The National Audit Office is already looking into these issues. What you have mentioned is just a tip of the iceberg, there is more to that. The Auditor General will investigate each and every aspect of public finances, including the one you have mentioned,” said Chafunya.