AG says Rummage matter outside cashgate –Malawi News
Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale has clarified that the payments government made to Rummage Pace topping the ‘cashgate’ external forensic audit report were dully cleared by his office and were included in the report on suspicion that they overcharged.
In the Baker Tilly report appendix, Rummage Pace (owned by Anil Lawlani/Raju Ralwani) reportedly were paid K12, 205,540,498, representing 50.2 percent of the loss on suspected overpayment.
The company offered services to the Malawi Defence Force and the Malawi Police Service.
Apart from above mentioned supplies. there was one separate deal, Rummage had supplied to Xelite and then Xelite further supplied to government. One of the managers confirmed that there was one transaction , saying they have proper documentation on their supplies from Attorney General’s office and Ministry of Finance.
Xelite said they were “surprised” with the report, saying they were not interviewed by Baker Tilly as they would have presented their documents of the supplies.
But Attorney General told Malawi News on Saturday that the two companies were not accused of ‘cashgate – obtaining payments from government on services not supplied or rendered – but it’s a suspected case of overcharging.
“My reading of the report, which I have done several times shows that the main issue in the transactions involving the two companies was over pricing,” said Kaphale.
“Prices are agreed by two parties,” he adds.
The Attorney General pointed out those documents in his possession show that the payments were approved by his officer, certainly by his predecessor.
“Government normally does not buy from the source. It buys from middlemen. Middlemen usually quote their prices higher, “said Kaphale as quoted by Malawi News.
Nyasa Times understands that the supplies to the MDF and Police were done as a matter of exigency.
Attorney General said Rummage Pace matter is “outside the modus operandi of cashgate.”
He said: “When you look at the report, you have people who didn’t supply anything, yet they got payment.”
The report further cites that chief cashgate suspect Oswald Lutepo is linked to at least 16 different businesses in Malawi including IPS which he registered on 12 July 2005 and O&G Construction Limited which was incorporated on 13 August 2010.
“Based on the evidence provided these are the only two businesses he owns that received ‘cashgate’ cheques. Transfers were however made from these two businesses to at least two other businesses that Osward Lutepo is linked to or owns being Chloride Batteries Limited and Woget Cotton Ginning Company.
IPS and O&G Construction received a total of MK 4,428,316,582 via 17 cheque payments from the Malawi government without supplying any goods, services or works in return, according to the report.
Some of the companies named on this appendix are Hurry Civil Engineering Construction (registered by Laura Savala), Pawooh Logistics (registered by Limumba Karim), Mahembe Civil Engineering (registered by Philbert Mkandawire), Image Investments (registered by Stafford Mpoola) and WEK Construction (registered by William Kachingwe).
The cashgate scam prompted foreign donors, who provide around 40 percent of Malawi’s budget, to pull the plug on aid of around $150 million last year.
It is the biggest financial scandal in Malawi’s history, and helped push former president Joyce Banda out of power in May elections, which were won by Peter Mutharika.
A number of government officials implicated in the fraud are facing criminal charges, and a first official was jailed last month for three years over the scandal.
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This learned AG is very, very, very, very confused man! Stealing comes in many forms, overpricing, getting payments for services not rendered etc. But our AG seems not to understand all this. All are cahgaters. APM please show him the way out of cabinet, he is a disgrace to your administration. No wonder all fingers point at him!
Kalekeni Kaphale!!!!!!! You have a big head which does not work……. Overpricing is stealing as well….
My guess is the auditors compared the market price of the items at the time of audit and the actual that your stupid department cleared….. the market price was very much lower than what your stupid department cleared…..
If the market price was MK200 and your stupid department cleared MK600…… MK400 was cashgate which your stupid department collected the money from the supplier after the cheque was cleared…..
NONSENSE MAN……..
It’s sad that even our attorney general does not have the basic understanding of HOW cashgate is done. To the extent that he even boldly says it was an issue of overpricing! If not overpricing or inflating figures, howelse does the AG think people steal??
THIS IS CHILDISH!!!! ISN’T THERE ANYBODY IN THIS GOVT. WHO CAN PRESENT, TALK AND TAKE CHARGE OF SERIOUS GOVT. BUSINESS?? SINCE JUNE 2014 GOVT. HAS BEEN BEHAVING LIKE CHICKENS WITHOUT HEAD!!!! IS THERE LEADERSHIP?????? IS IT THAT THE LEADER IS VERY INCOMPETENT????? REMINDS ME OF UNIVERSITY SAGA!!!!
No 11 wake up British Civil Servants in 2010 stole £2.3 billion from their Govt. Secondly most senior govt officers like Attorney general solucitor general and many others in opc have had the report for more than 6 months. When UK sold arms to saudi arabia there was massive fraud and corruption but the uk high court stopped the case on national interest.
And what are you trying to tell us? Furthermore, please go and recheck your story!!!
Kaphale wakhala pa phale. Anali defence lawyer wa ma cashgaters akudziwa bwino mmene ankabera koma poti anadya nawo, milanduyu sipita patali chifukwa nayenso ndi beneficiary wa cashgate. Amayesamasewera mmene ankalola udindowu.
In Malawi people are playing with the Government money that’s why the Donors stopped helping Malawi.
The attorney general claims he read the report several times. When did he read the report when all of us were waiting for it and it only came out 1 or 2 days ago? Did he read it as they were doctoring or editing it? More shocking revelation, he claims that the govt doesn’t buy things from the Source but rather from Middlemen who tend to inflate prices!! How far can this govt’s incompetence go? This is an obvious loophole for collusions and corruption to flourish and plunder govt money. And he is telling without even butting an eyelid as… Read more »
The government knows very well that Cashgate is a killer – it killed PP when they played with it. It will kill those who commit it even if they are not mentioned anywhere – BP goes high every time they see or hear anything about cashgate. Sometimes they dream that they are in the cells because of cashgate – when they work up they are very sad. It has killed many poor due to lack of essential services. DPP can be killed by it if handled childlessly. They need to say enough is enough by doing the correct thing. Eliminating… Read more »
The attorney has read the report several times as he tells us, when did he receive his copy? The report was officially unveiled 1 or 2 days ago. And why were we a waiting for this report for so many months. Was his reading part of the dpp doctoring or editing? Most surprising also is the admission that the govt doesn’t buy things from the source but rather from expensive middlemen!!! Why? How incompetent can our govt get into? That is where the collusion and corruption come in. These are the loop holes that have drained and plundered our coffers!!!… Read more »