Malawi: Wrongful self-enrichment in Bingu govt audit

The Office of the President and Cabinet alone has lost a whooping Mk150 million in theft and general abuse, according to an audit reports by the Auditor General covering the period 2005 through to 200.

The report indicates a free-for-all abuse of public funds in government departments where the application of procurement procedures and Public Finance Management Act was almost non-existent.

The damning report is contrary to the current governments commitment to the much touted zero-tolerance to corruption and fiscal discipline. Ironically, even in incidents where theft was detected the alleged culprits were left scot-free.

Money collected as bail bond at courts have not been accounted for and schools are said to be collecting illegal fees that cannot be accounted for in some secondary schools in the country.

In one case, the report describes money amounting to K3, 176,410 was paid for construction of a hostel in Blantyre by the Department of Information Systems and Technology Management. However, as the report says in graphic detail the account through which payment was made did not have funds and the hostel was never constructed.

In the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Housing Mk 16 932 277.34 meant for grading and shaping roads was diverted to settling of international telephone bills, purchase of cell phones and buying of spares parts for vehicles that cannot be traced.

Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN), a coalition of civil society organisations concerned with economic governance has called on anti corruption enforcers to act on suspects. What is important is government action, taking to book those that have flouted government regulation financial procedures, said Andrew Kumbatira head of MEJN.

In a related development, the general economic performance of the current administration is also put to test when major parastatals registered total failure with the Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM), the countrys sole electricity provider, on the verge of collapse.

The parastatal is said to owe banks through overdrafts Mk 2 billion and over K4.2bn in loans. A source told Nyasa Times that the company has since written to the banks requesting to turn the overdraft into a loan. Latest media reports indicate that the company is almost insolvent.

The development comes at a time when power blackouts are the order of the day, the worst in the history of the country.