Judiciary fails to explain fuel expenses of K124mil: Malawi Parliament demands objective evidence
Controlling Officer for the Judiciary, Agness Patemba and her team were thrown out of a Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PA) meeting on Wednesday after failing to bring with them objective material evidence to back the use of K124 million as fuel allowances for staff in 2012/13 financial year.
The audit by the Nation Audit Office revealed abuse of payments through allowances, dubious fuel allocations in the Judiciary amounting to K16 391 589. 40.
Apart from K16 million audit questions, the audit also revealed there was payment if fuel allowances not accounted for worth K7.2mill bulk purchase of fuel not accounted for amounting to K85.6million.
Records submitted to the committee show among other questions concerning mismanagement include non-maintenance of fuel ledgers worth K28.9 million purchases; not recorded in stores ledger worth K20.million ; unsubstantiated fuel refund worth K1. 5million; fuel not accounted for through log books amounting to K2.3 million and unsubstantiated refunds worth K8.9 million among others.
The Auditor General Stepheson Kamphasa faulted the Judiciary for not following procedures for management of fuel expenses, saying “there was no record of fuel allowances spent.”
The Judiciary were called to PAC to respond to audit queries.
Appearing before PAC, Patemba led a delegation which included chief accountant and deputy sheriff of the High Court, and she conceded that the payments were “mistakenly charged to wrong budget lines” contrary to Treasury instructions.
Patemba, who is acting registrar of the High Court of Malawi and Malawi Supreme Court for Appeal, told the committee the Judiciary requires that officers sign for the fuel allowances in cheque register book.
“There is no requirement for production of receipts,” she said.
She said Judiciary officers failed to obtain receipts because some trips were made in rural areas which did not have service station and they conveniently paid allowances rather than topping up fuel cards
But PAC led by its chairperson Alekeni Mwenyani were not convinced with the explanations, saying they needed evidence that indeed the money was spent on fuel for official duties.
“We need to put a stop to this, As a committee of Parlaiment, we are at pains to accept this ,” said Mwenyani.
“When you don’t explain an expenditure, there is a consequence for that.”
Menyani said the evidence they needed was “vehicle log books where the mileage was entered to correspond with the fuel requested.”
He said if they fail to account for the funds, they should “pay back this money to Malawians.”
A member of the committee, former Minsiter of Health Peter Kumpalume said explanation by Patemba was not plausible to justify for flouting public finance management regulations.
The Judiciary will have another date to submit their evidence of the fuel expenditure, the committee deputy chairperson Kamlepo Kalua said.
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Mama Agness Patemba, note that you were not the controlling officer between 2012 – 2013 and the fiscal years after it. As such it would be an up hill task for you to give correct answers. The best that you can do is to summon all the drivers that used fuel cards in the said fiscal year, the transport officers that issued them, accounts personnel that effected payments and those heading the human resource that authorised them. Interrogate them using legal investigative skills or research methods. Compile the information linking it to specific malpractices that prevailed in the use of… Read more »
Pay back the money to Malawians
Pay back our taxpayers money, we suspect the money was not used for the intended purpose. You denied us justice by holding that illegal strike, ate our money meant for fuel and lubricants at Judiciary Department’s services and you are also busy demanding housing allowances from Malawians. Koma anthunu mulibe chisoni ndi public purse.
In my view this are for Judicial Officers not those who were on strike. A Wize in Judiciary two sections are there and this you should put in your mind.