Donors angry at PAC: ‘Don’t trivialise Cash-gate scandal’
Bilateral Donors to Malawi under the Common Approach to Budgetary Support (CABS) have expressed shock at the just ended hearings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Nyasa Times understands.
One of the diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said PAC was hijacking the role of the law enforcement organisations such as the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB), the Malawi Police, Office of the Auditor General and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) whom have all gone flat out amassing huge evidences to prosecute offenders.
“We are very saddened, most Malawians we believe are also saddened that information that may help to prosecute the perpetrators of what you now call Cashgate scandal is being trivialised as a talk show with an important legislature committee of Parliament being in forefront,” said the diplomat who said they are working on a statement to the same effect.
He said the donors have been discussing to see how they will try to get a common understanding whether Malawi PAC views the role by the International Forensic Experts, useless.
“DFID has funded huge amounts of money in bringing international forensic audit experts, here we have a committee of Parliament interrogating heads of the law enforcement bodies to divulge precious evidence, the question is ; is the Forensic audit help from our partner Britain not enough? Or are there some interested parties in the committee trying to get forearmed?” Asked the diplomat.
The comment comes hot on the heels of what he termed as “gross, shocking and wanton accusations against the President and the Central Bank” by the Secretary of Lilongwe Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Peter Chinoko.
For about two hours Chinoko excited the politically split PAC whose majority is the opposition Democratic Progressive (DPP) with his serious allegation-laden-free-script presentation.
Among other allegations, he alleged President Banda directed the RBM Governor Charles Chuka to make available a Billion Kwacha to State House. (One billion kwacha is translated to 1000 packs of K1 million bundles in K1000 denomination and doubles that in K500 denomination which can easily fit at the back seat and the trunk of an average saloon car).
But in his allegations, Chinoko said the Bank Governor resisted saying even the cash transit vans that do city to city cash transfer doesn’t hold such amounts due to space.
He apart from promising to provide a written submission to PAC, did not tender and other credible evidence of what type of car was used to ferry the cash, who was driving the car and if there was a checked cashed and who signed it.
State House was yet to respond to these allegations, but analysts laughed off the allegations by Chinoko describing it “good fiction script dwarfing the reality in time of Idi Amin.”
Another said the statement by Chinoko to PAC was not plausible and not coherent.
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