K92bn DPP cashgate audit starts – Malawi Auditor General

Auditor General Stephenson Kamphasa has told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that his office alongside audit firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) has commenced the K92 billion investigations into the forensic audit covering 2009 to 2013.

A comprehensive forensic audit of ministries and departments covering the period between 2009 and 2012 under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rule in what is being christened as ‘DPP K92bn cashgate’ scandal is being funded by Germany government.

Kamphasa said the National Audit Office (NAO) would establish the facts behind the preliminary audit into the government central payment system which may have led to the loss of K92 billion.

“The 2009 to 2013 forensic audit is currently underway and the K92 billion preliminary findings fall within the period in which the forensic audit is being carried out, of the Central Payment System,” Kamphasa told parliament committee

Kamphasa said the funding from the German government for the new forensic audit did not cover 2005 to 2009 financial years and efforts were being made to look for donors to finance the audit.

An interim investigative audit report of the government payment system known as Integrated Financial Management and information System (Ifmis) that the National Audit Office carried out between November 2011 and first half of 2012, which was kept under wraps, showed that government lost over K90 billion through abuse and irregularities.

Katrin Pfeiffer, head of development cooperation at the German embassy, said her government had provided support to this audit as one of many components under its technical cooperation project Strengthening Public Financial and Economic Management in Malawi, implemented by GIZ.

“The audit is to quantify the amount misappropriated over the period 2009 – 2013. It will be submitted to the Auditor General in order to be used by the Malawi authorities (Executive, Legislative and Judicative) and other interested parties to determine suitable actions to remedy the situation caused by the presumed misappropriations,” she said.

Germany has stressed that it wants the full recovery of money that was stolen through cashgate to resume budgetary support to Malawi.

“We are much interested in the recovery of money and the arrest of the culprits,” German Ambassador to Malawi Peter Woeste told Capital Radio, a private broadcaster.

Germany envoy said Malawi government has to seal all loopholes first to warrant aid resumption.

“No one would put money into a bucket that has holes and is still leaking,” he said.

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) says roughly K20 billion went missing during Joyce Banda’s two year rule. They add that probably another K90 billion went missing over the eight years of the presidency of the late Bingu wa Mutharika, equal to roughly $500m at the exchange rate of the time.