Goodall is an epitome of mismanagement: Malawi newspaper columnists slam Finance Minister

Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe and Local Government Minister Kondwani Nankhumwa continue to attract bad headlines over the controversial K4 billion scam with Malawi newspapers columnists going flat out to slam the fiscal chief.

Writing in his column published by Nation on Sunday, Golden Matonga said as calls for Gondwe’s  head grow louder each day, including for anti-corruption agents to investigate his recent experiment with the taxes, “one can only agree that Goodall’s time is up.”

He wrote: “Soon, or later, President Peter Mutharika, the man with the ultimate responsibility to down the curtain on the Gondwe years, has to see that prolonging Gondwe’s stay any longer is an indictment of his own commitment to aspirations of the people.”

Matonga continued: “Goodall, today, is an epitome of mismanagement and as the country edges closer to 2019 elections; he is a liability to the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

“With elections in 15 months’ time, many voters would have his name in mind as one of the many reasons the DPP is not the party to trust with affairs of government

In Malawi News, Madalitso Mussa wrote on his ‘Tale of Time’ column that Gondwe is now rusted.

“In his prime—let us not take away this from him—Goodall Gondwe was a fine and articulate economist who wowed all of us. When he was Minister of Finance while he still had the grit, Bingu wa Mutharika, may he rest well, had a stellar performance as president. Many will not say it but the truth remains that Bingu’s admirable record was to a great extent buoyed by the acumen of  Goodall who still had something to offer the country. But now Goodall is a senile man who sometimes forgets what he said minutes earlier,” Mussa wrote.

Mussa added: “ Goodall’s dip in the public purse tells you that there is something wrong with the judgement of the erstwhile immaculate and fantastic finance minister. I am tempted to think that the old man has lost it all and he is being used knowingly by some people who know that an 81-year-old granny cannot make sound decisions.”

“Let me say it again. Our belief that you have to be old to be wise is silly and it is one of the reasons that have pushed this country to damnation. The truth is when old, we rust -tales of time.”

In a related development, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) on Thursday released a statement describing the scam as a clear portrayal of mismanagement of public funds and evidence of a leadership that is corrupt and lacks integrity.

At first, the money was reportedly earmarked for only 86 constituencies belonging to legislators on the government side and those supporting the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), with each constituency being allocated about K40 million.