CSOs launch ‘pay back our money’ campaign for Malawi looters
Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the banner of the National Anti-Corruption Alliance have launched a sustained campaign dubbed ‘Pay back our money’ to demand back resources from convicted ‘criminal entrepreneurs’.
Some initiatives under this campaign include: public interest litigation, the introduction of a Black Monday, strict monitoring of cases, doing life audits of suspected ‘criminal entrepreneurs’, engaging the Judiciary to ensure speedy judgement and engaging institutions like the National Assembly.
Legally, the launch of a revised National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) by the country’s graft busting body, the ACB, calls upon the strengthening of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute corrupt individuals and recover their illicit assets.
The CSOs, Youth and Society (YAS), Church and Society of the Livingstonia Synod, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and the Malawi Law Society have also asked the Tonse Alliance administration to immediately walk the campaign talk by immediately instituting an inquiry to the scale of looting of public resources under the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“What we have seen now is just a tip of the ice berg because we believed the plunder started way back in 2014. We need to gather evidence as soon as possible before it is destroyed,” YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka said.
They have also asked the current government to hasten the setting up of a special financial crimes court in the country’s judicial system so that there are no backlogs or delays of cases.
“By resources we mean both financial and assets such as machinery, vehicles and real estate property. We would want to see the Civil Forfeiture law evoked and in this regard we also call on the international community in assisting in the recovery because we believe some were stashed off shore,” Kajoloweka said.
The call comes in the wake of high profile arrests of former Malawi Revenue Authority Deputy Commissioner Rosa Mbilizi and former president Peter Mutharika’s security aide Norman Chisale for allegedly importing duty free cement worthy $7 million using Mutharika’s Taxpayer Identification Number.
“We want the new administration to allocate adequate resources to law and state bodies that handle financial crimes to enable them expedite such cases. Political will must be seen in the allocation of enough resources and efforts to solve capacity challenges of these bodies,” said the Alliance’s chairperson Moses Mkandawire at a new conference held at the Grand Palace Hotel in Mzuzu on Thursday.
Mkandawire also implored the new administration to reform the civil service at all levels and not only target Controlling Officers saying that would be one way to curb corruption.
“We are tied of government’s commitment/s that do not translate into concrete results. We have many unsolved cases dating back to the Muluzi regime. We have had enough of statements,” said Michael Kaiyatsa of the CHRR.
Kaiyatsa said Malawians must be patriotic and take responsibility in revealing people with suspicious property that do not tie with expected legal earnings.
“During the ‘Pay back our money’ campaign we are also going to institute a vigorous social media campaign, hold protests subject to COVID 19 measures, start radio and TV programmes and frequently engage the media,” he said.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Munali Kuti agalu inu? Mwazolowera ma demo eti. Mukufuna mudziba mmashop in the name of demo?? Mugwanayo, Afiti opemphera
Dot tackle only on DPP and UDF, yes we’re understanding to curb corruption but this one ( Joice banda) she musnt hide herself in tonse alliance for her bad readership in 2013 she must also answer charge of cash gate, we want justice too for her.
Recovery of plunder must be prioritized (especially where there is documentary evidence of conversion of state assets (whether financial or physical) into personal assets) over court processes or court processes must only be initiated after recovery of plunder because these individuals are capable of corrupting the entire court process!!!!
Good idea requiring harnessing by the support of the citizenry.
Thieves need to give back what they stole from Malawians.
Moses MKANDAWIRE, any grouping that crops up you are always there. This is GREED of the highest order. You will finish badly!
Musaiwalenso ma INCOMPETENT 2 commissioners a MEC aja clean-up (Namathanga & Kunje)
Moses looks sick. Please put on mask to prevent others.
Zikimo amabungwe potiyimilira. Please muwonetse kuti amwenye asapatulidwe mu campaign imeneyi. These crooks are the biggest beneficiary of crooked dealings. They are the ones who comes with huge bribes in order to pave the way for their dirty tricks. Malawi has enriched Indians since the dawn of democracy. But no one has ever been tried on a court of law.
These CSOs, have always been affiliated to the main Tonse Alliance parties and they only make noise ills by the camp on the other side of the ‘bwalo’. We are used to their style. Remember how mute they became during JB’s time and how they watched and never condemned cashgate? I can assure you the current administration will comfortably plunder because the noise makers are dining with them. For instance, non of the has made noise on K35m cash splash to MCP MPs this week. Where has Mr. Lazalo gotten the money all of a sudden to be such generous?… Read more »
I support it but I just wish this cases should end quick not like muluzis until now