Auditor General mum on ‘K1 trillion Bingu cashgate’

Officials from the Auditor general have refused to endorse claims by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament that money plundered during the Bingu wa Mutharika era has risen from K577 billion to K1 trillion.

Spokesperson for the office Lawrence Chinkhunda flatly refused to comment on the claims by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deputy chairperson Kamlepo Kalua.

“We did a preliminary forensic audit which led us to the K577 billion figure. A second forensic audit is in progress,” Chinkhunda said.

“We will make the results known to the public after we have completed the audit,” he added.

Chinhunda therefore disassociated his office from claims by the firebrand Rumphi east legislator Kalua.

“PAC has a right to its own opinion but we do not know anything concerning the K1 trillion cash-gate. We are a professional office and we will let Malawians know the results of the second preliminary audit,” he said.

However, Kalua said the second multiparty president Bingu wa Mutharka plundered K1 trillion of public resources.

He said the government is not keen to take up the matter because some of the people who benefitted from the loot are in government.

Finance minister Goodall Gondwe trashed the Kalua allegations claiming he is mad and always makes serious allegations against the government which he fails to prove.