EU demands speed in Malawi corruption cases and no sacred cows ‘like Chaponda’

The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Malawi Marchel Gerrmann  has urged speedy handling of corruption cases, especially Cashgate, whose snail’s pace has raised questions about authorities’ commitment to fight graft.

The EU diplomat made the call at the two-day National Anti-Corruption Conference in the capital Lilongwe.

He was speaking on behalf of development partners at the conference which ends Friday.

Gerrmann said there should be no “sacred cows” in handling cases of people involved or suspected of corruption.

“High profile and high value corruption cases should be accelerated,” the EU diplomat said.

Without mentioning names but people quickly connecting to fired Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda, Germann noted that recent forensic audits have revealed  the systematic of public resources “but most of the culprits have, so far, not been charged let alone sentenced.”

He mentioned the maize procurement scandal involving Chaponda and said as President Peter Mutharika says ” there should be no scared cows.”

The diplomat warned that Malawi risks scaring away potential investors and completely losing donor help if the cancer of corruption is not tackled.