Karonga DC implicated in K26 million scam

District Commissioner (DC) for  Karonga  Richard Hara is suspected to have taken an upper hand in the swindling of K26 million under the 2016-2017 District Development Fund, Nyasa Times understands.

Hara, alongside the district Director of Finance (DOF) Patrick Kumvenji, who is at large after being asked to appear before the council officials last week, is principally suspected to have thieved and pocketed the money from the District Development Fund (DDF).

According to some councillors, the council secretariat clandestinely transferred the money from the council’s pool account to operations account in July this year on their own accord.

Confiding in Nyasa Times the councillors said: “They knew that the central government would have taken back the fund as usual especially if it was remained idle.”

“So what they did is to transfer the fund to the council’s operations account (at FMB bank) from the ‘Pool Account.’ They did this to show to government that the money was used by the council while not. However, as councillors we managed to trace it”.

Karonga District Council has since agreed to re-summon the DOF and the DC to produce the financial report concerning the missing fund.

During the full council meeting, the secretariat blocked the media to attend the meeting.

However, Nyasa Times has learnt  that Hara is also accused of mismanaging K58 million meant for corrugated iron sheets (Malata) and cement subsidy program in Mchinji district.

Outspoken youth activist in the district Steven Simsokwe told Nyasa Times in an interview that they will storm the DC’s office if the two fails to disclose the financial report to the council.

Efforts to talk the two Karonga District top officers proved futile as their mobile phones were both out of reach.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Hara is doing this with support from some very senior government officials.

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