Development economist weighs in on MEC account: ‘No wonder Malawi has title of being world’s poorest nation’
A development economist has said the clarification from Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), the Accountant General and FDH Bank, on the electoral body having a bank account named after the title of its controlling officer, the chief elections officer (CEO), is left wanting.
Chris Chaima Banda, a vevelopment economist and long serving British civil service technocrat, told Nyasa Times that explanations from MEC, Accountant General and FDH Bank, following reports that government transferred K4 billion into MEC CEO account on the eve of the May 21 Tripartite Elections, were not adding up.
FDH Bank in a statement seen by Nyasa Times, explained that the account was inherited from the then wholly government owned Malawi Savings Bank which FDH Financial Holdings Limited purchased in 2015.
The bank said the account was valid and met all required legal requirements for operation.
And Accountant General Sungani Mandala said besides MEC, other government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) also have bank accounts in the names of the offices of their respective controlling officers such as principal secretaries (PSs), district commissioners (DCs) and chief executive officers who are also co-signatories.
But Chaima Banda retorted: “So if it is OK to have this account so called Chief Elections Officer. So are you telling me that each parastatal CEO has accounts in their job titles. So tomorrow all Principal Secretaries and the Chief Secretary should rush to the bank and open Principal Secretary current accounts?
“So where is the President account, where is the Chief Justice account, where is the Speaker account? Malawi is the most humbled nation on earth.”
He continued: “No wonder we have an honourable title of being the poorest nation on earth. That tag is a curse, poverty cripples the mind much more than any other part of the body. “
Chaima Banda said there is need to fight “ the war against the tribal cartel of thieves.”
MEC director of media and public relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa in a separate statement said the electoral body CEO, as an officer defined in the Public Finance Management Act, is the controlling officer; hence, all the funds and resources are under his control.
Reads the statement in part: “The operational procedure is that all government funding goes into the MEC Ifmis [Integrated Financial Management and Information System] account domiciled at the Southern Region Treasury Cashier.
“For money to be transferred into the Chief Elections Officer account at FDH Bank, MEC writes the Accountant General for authorisation, justifying the amount and also the purpose and the Accountant General gives a ‘No objection’ when he is satisfied with the reasons provided.”
The statement said the K4 billion in question was duly authorised by the Accountant General.
“In March 2019, the Treasury also transferred K8.5 billion. These amounts were meant to facilitate payment of printing of ballot papers and other bills for electoral activities, and allowances for security officers, polling staff and other service providers during the polling exercise,” reads the statement.
But an economic governance expert Dr. Felix Lombe also faulted the opening of a parallel bank account defying government’s financial management system.
Lombe, who is African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (Aicc) chief executive office , described it as “a serious breach.”
Meawwhile, Malawi Congress Party secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka has said the account “must be investigated”, according to Section 20 of the Financial Crimes Act of 2016.
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This is a clear issue where govt authorised departments to open accounts with banks of their choice for other transactions. It has been there for years but now it has come to light because of the elections issue and suspicions of bribes to election staff. However, these accounts to say the truth, they are prone to abuse by controlling officers. all they can do is to limit the amounts deposited into these accounts and not in billions coz departments should not be transacting in such huge amounts like accountant generals office.Those who formulated these accounting regu;ations might either haad good motives or sinister motives and its up to the administration in power to see whether it is good to maintain them or not basing on how monies are transacted, but if it benefits some other people then no body will be ready to close them and remain poor kkkkkk
IMENEYI NDI NJIRA YOFUNA KUBERA NDALAMA CREATING STUPID UNKNOWN ACCOUNTS
Mandala is not even in diplomate accountant category, Non practising or practising categories, so he is a tabula rasa in accountancy, but rather an administrator.
Hehehehehe zukuwawani? Sungani Mandala whether qualified or not in your view, he will be the Accountant General and he has risen very fast, kkkkkkkkkk, congrats PS.
Our Malawi is a failed state. With the way we are choosing our leadership it will take generations before we start developing. Thieves are left to roam in the state institutions accounts. Tribal demagogues are left to act in their tribal interests, we still have along way to go until we institute hard rules by constitutionaly reducing their powers
The opposition erred by asking for access to MEC staffers’ bank accounts.
The opposition should ask for access to bank accounts of MEC staffers without their names, for the sole purpose of ascertaining unexplained cash flows. Also worth noting is the verification of transanctions for foreign trips. Who paid for the transactions abroad in the form of a house that could be rented, or a fake business undertaking reqiring remittance of funds earmarked for MEC staffers but using a front to complete the deal. Or they claim expenses for trumped up business deals abroad. Employees of Parastatal organisations and government apparently stole tons of money for fictitious business deals abroad. Who has businesses abroad among MEC staffers?
When I see poor souls in Thyolo I cry and even in Chiradzulu I cry
rwanda is developing while watching, so is tanzania. but malawi all we do is clamping hands for thieves. change doesn’t come automatic. change is a product of action. lets fight these thieves. if not now then when? if not us then who else will do it for us.
I hope they still have some change in the account. I need some money for my roofing grass.
“War against tribal cartel of thieves” I do not know how many malawians understand this? Thanks Mr. Chaima Banda for trying to explain what Malawi, malawi leadership and the citizenry are. To malawians of good will, this war is very necessary. The coalition of thieves and killers has done everything to keep malawians snowing. Any spirit that tries to open up the eyes is trumped to the earth. The account issue is just a tip. Just like anything else, tribal connections! We need some to lead this war, that is the only way out, these thieves and killers must go! If Malawi is yet to shed blood to get freedom, Malawians have to! These dogs are killing our relatives, the have made us labour and they just come to leap. They have employed the 80/20 theory where just 20% of the population is enjoying 80% of the nation’s worth. They surely should go!
As long as the account in question is not abused, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that arrangement. It seems evident from the tone of this so called British Civil Servant or economic development that he is one of those folks standing on the losers queue. The president cannot have an account in the first place neither can the Chief Justice…..what happened to the concept of fiduciary position? the law does not disregard legitimate transactions and procedures.
MANDALA THE SO CALLED ACCOUNTANT GENERAL IS NOT QUALIFIED
DPP took him to do this nosense!
JUST BECAUSE HE COMES FROM THYOLO
FOTSEKIIIIIIIII!!!!
DPP THIEVES AT IT AGAIN
Kkkkkkkk umbava wafikapo ku Nyasaland
mbava izi za diphwiphwi zatizunza kwa nthawi yayitali. your days are numbered!!!!
Sungani Mandala is not a qualified accountant, hence he has no clue whatsoever about internal control, control environment. Mavuto achuluka. A DPP ndi ma charlie they knew that to steal money, one of the best things they need to do is to install an accountant general who does not know accounting. You got it right
Dzikoli likuonongeka kwambiri kwambiri kamba ka executive looting. Malawians are just too humble to allow evrything bad happening under their watch and yet clap hands for these thieves. This is very wrong. In Malawi, every MDA is rotten, ndipo anthu akupakula koopsa. Kodi simumadabwa anthu kukakamira pampando ngati wakumtundu kwawo. Zikuchitika kulikonse, football, etc.
Zayambika, another five years of gnashing teeth, poverty and pain in the stomach
FELIX LOMBE IS A POSTER BOY FOR LAZALO CHATSIKA
The jigsaw puzzle is simple : Chief Elections Officer, FDH bank, and Accountant General, all with tribal connection and therefore, equate to tribal thieving. These Lomwes are ripping Malawi apart and are making the country proud of being one of the poorest.
You must be careful when dealing with the issues of tribalism. Its possible to tackle issues without mention tribes. This is divisive rather than edifying. Malawi at the moment needs people who can unite her rather than tearing her apart. Let not our political affiliations destroy our pride and identity as the warm heart of Africa. Lets not have a disgruntled mind as our politicians. Lets conquer tribalism by preaching love and unity. Political parties come and go but Malawi remains the same.
The exact name of the bank account is: “THE CHIEF ELECTIONS OFFICER (MEC). Just look at the name printed on one of the published cheques.
I also know that bank accounts existed in the name of “DISTRICT COMMISSIONER – name of district”.
And what does Financial Management Act say about how bank accounts are to be opened?
There is too much hype around for a non-issue
The cheque has “Chief Elections Officer” and doesn’t have the word [MEC] ……………….. don’t cheat! In accounting, that gives much difference!
Whatever the explanations, I do not think it is right to have such an account for a government institution. We can do better on this. Why beat IFMIS in the first place? Why beat the institution’s finance departments? Obviously this account is prone to abuse and as a nation, we need move away from these kinds of transactions of such huge amounts. Be transparent and prudent to taxpayers’ money. It is simply not right. There should be no shortcuts to payments at all, after all electronic payments are very possible now in Malawi direct to recipients’ accounts from the finance departments. These loopholes have to stop
All the money figures appearing to us the ciyizens, one would wonder we are the poorest?
And begging and getin money aid from theinternational organizations!!!!WE ARE BLLODY INSANE.
POLITICIANS DONT CARE ABOUT ANUONE, AS LONG AS THEY GET FAT POTBELLIES,
GO ABROAD FOR HOLIDAYS AND TREATMENT ONVE THEY GET SICK IFE KUMANGOTIMATA NSUZI.
WE GOT PIPO WHO ARE EDUCATED BUT DONT WANT TO JOIN POLITICS BCOZ WE GOT CRAP HEADS UP THERE.SELF IMPOSED ONES.
Bwana Development Economist.. What is the link between the issue at hand (the account) and tribal thieves. Are u tribalist yourself? Bwana Lombe si inu aja mumalemba ma speech a Chakwera? Tikuonanitu.
most Lomwes holding important positions in government are thieves including the president, he store K145,000,000.00 remember?
you mmc are in the tribal cartel
Yes he is a Development Economist and a good. Mr Chilima Banda, are you drunk? The issue is the money did not go to anybody’s pocket. Your article in the Daily Times was suggesting so.
When ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise. Joseph you are so blank . When you have two thieves in your bank yard. one steals from your bank account, and the other from UDF bank account. Between the two, who’s the thief and which one is not ?
Just because the money did not go into someone’s account, that does not make the practice right. There is well systematic
and faultering practice in place, having one agenda in this DPP governance, that is “steal as much, no one cares” including yourself.
I fail to understand how myopic you people are. No government institution in the world would open an account in the name of an officer, let alone in POOR MALAWI. What a poor governance. Poor GRC I am made to believe that MEC has a chief financial officer with his or her finance department who put controls in how money is spent. Koma ndi Accountant General yemwe akuvomereza zolakwikazi. Malawi ali pa moto basi. Tizingokhalira kulira daily ndithu.
So this guy is a development economist? Okay- Maybe but the naming of accounts in Government has been there since time immemorial- Just check the budget documents. It does not need a ” development Economist” he is delving into technicalities he has no expertise in for sure. Let him delve into the Development theories where he can theorise- He will relate to theories that others have conceptualised already and see where they fit into this poorest country aspect. Otherwise ife phee looking at the experts, analysts, pumbasts name them
You’re one of them that are swindling our tax payer money illegally. Mbava zokha zokha inu trying to cover up yourselves. Dark days are coming after you.
Does he have to spell everything out in black and white for you? The point is, with all these questionable accounts floating in the air, there is room for ghost accounts to be created and therefore for money to be swindled instead of being used for development and other uses that it’s meant for. It’s like having a house with too many doors. At some point, some of the doors become a security risk.