Congoma says 60% of national  budget goes to corruption in procurement

Council for Non-Governmental Organisation (Congoma) says 60 per cent of last year’s K1.3 trillion national budget went to kickbacks.

Congoma chief executive officer Ronald Mtonga said this at a meeting on Thursday in Lilongwe.

“This lack of transparency in our national budget is fueling poverty in the country,” said Mtonga.

He said it was sad that 80 per cent of the national budget last year went to procurement, leaving a small budget for public services.

Mtonga’s sentiments come at a time when parliament is about to debate and pass a provisional budget amid cautions from economists and other stakeholders that procurement should be minimized in the provisional budget.