Kamlepo defiant on Malawi cashgate ministers:  I’m not going to give Mutharika names, let him kill me

Rumphi East MP, Kamlepo Kalua has reacted to the call by President Peter Mutharika that he should give him names of  seven cabinet minusters implicated  in the mismanagement of the public funds – the cashgate – saying he is not an Auditor General to do so.

Mutharika said on Monday that he was giving Kalua 24 hours to submit his list of shame to the President os “shut up.”

The President said he has no names of the cashgate suspects.

But Kalua, who is also vice chairman of Parliamentary’s Public Accounts Committe,  said in interview with Nyasa Times that a President has the names of the corrupt ministersand is only shielding them from prosecution.

“I am not an Auditor General. If they want to kill me, they should kill me ; I am ready to die,” said Kalua.

“I am not the Auditor General, I am not Director of Anti Corruption Bureau. I am no head of intelligence. The Auditor General did submit 13 files to the Anti Crruption Burea and he said in the media that out of the 13, 7 of the files belong to serving ministers.

“We summoned the Auditor General. He appeared before Public Accounts Committee and when he appeared he gave us the report and we insisted on names and he gave us the names. When he gave us the names we had to share with the embassies (international community).”

Kalua said the same names the Audior General gave the committee and other stakeholders were also submitted to President Mutharika.

He said he has the names but it is not his job to name and shame.

“Why should I give the names to the President as if I am an auditor. I am not an auditor. I am not chief secretary. I am not the one who audited. I am not.”

LISTEN TO KAMLEPO HERE:

Kalua accused President Mutharika of issuing threats and inciting regime attacks on him.

“So why is  he threatening me, why is he issuing state terrorism against me,” said outspoken Kalua.

“The President said in Zomba that he had a report and that page one is Joyce Banda, page 2 is Joyce Banda and page 3 is Joyce Banda, which report was he referring to?

“If he wants to kill me, let him kill me. The Auditor General did not only give names to me , he gave it so many people,” said Kalua.

Preliminary audits of government finances between 2009 and 2014, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and financed by the German government, indicate that at least K577 bn. ($807 mn.) could not be accounted for.

Later, the estimated loss was reduced to K236 bn. ($330 mn.), still a gigantic figure for such a small country, about one third of the government’s annual budget.

PP legislators, led by Mzimba West MP Harry Mkandawire and Kalua, led calls  for the names of all suspects to be made public.

In parliament, Mkandawire mentioned Agriculture Minister George Chaponda to have been named in the report.

Chaponda denied any involvement.

Revelations of the K577 billion cashgate came hot on the heels of a forensic audit report by British firm, RSM (formely called Baker Tilly), that established that K24 billion was looted from Capital Hill between April and September 2013 under the administration of Joyce Banda and her People’s Party (PP).

Banda is on record saying “ There must be a stubborn link between the MK577 billion scandal of 2009 and 2012 and the MK20 billion cashgate of 2013.”

The  ‘grand corruption’  audit report will be a stern test to President Mutharika committement to fight corruption without fear or favour.

Observers also note that lack of political will has crippled Malawi’s Anti-Corruption  Bureau, undermining their efforts through political interference and threats.

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