Malawi ‘s Auditor General under political duress to shield corrupt gangsters – Analyst

University of Malawi’s Chancellor College-based political professor, Mustafa Hussein,  has said Auditor General Stepheson Kamphasa is under political duress  not to disclose names of serving Cabinet ministers implicated in the recent forensic audit report.

The opposition has claimed seven Cabinet ministers were implicated  in the forensic audit report covering the period 2009 to December 2014 which established that about K236 billion and not K577 billion in public funds as initially estimated could not be accounted for.

Kamphasa presented the audit report to Parliament in June, but the lack of detail such as names of the alleged culprits has irked some sections of societyaccusing President Peter Mutharika of shielding ministers involved.

And Kamphasa has changed his tune saying no minister is named in the report.

But  Hussein said Kamphasa’s remarks show that politicians have interfered with the Auditor General’s work.

“The auditor general could have come out very clearly on the available files at this time when politicians are fighting on the same. We have now started suspecting political interference and it has showed complications for the process of the auditing,” said Hussein.

He further  demanded transparency and accountability on the 13 files submitted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arguing that the public should know the truth about the sealed documents.

Meanwhile, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) vice-chairperson Kamlepo Kalua has  questioned Kamphasa’s independence saying his body language during interview on state broadcaster MBC  showed he was acting under political duress.

“Do u think Billions of Kwacha were stolen by ghosts? The AG further says the names in the files are for suppliers none of which are senior government officials, are you sure ordinary Malawians have got the ability to swindle billions of Kwachas without help from senior government officials?,” wrote Kalua on Facebook.

In July this year, Kamphasa said  Attorney General’s office had advised against releasing the names of individuals and businesses named in the audit report for fear of legal implications and jeopardising investigations.

Malawi Law Society (MLS) also backed the Attorney General’s position, saying releasing the names suspected of abusing funds could affect investigations.