Malawi govt insists on K1tn heist: Challenge DPP to state how much it looted
Malawi government has made an impassioned appeal to the erstwhile ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to provide it with a contrary figure on the amount of money the Peter Mutharika administration plundered during the six years it was in power after the party claimed President Chakwera exaggerated the over K1 trillion (over $1 billion) was stolen through corruption.
Leader of Opposition, Kondwani Nankhumwa, told a news conference that DPP did not steal K1.3 trillion from the poor and struggling taxpayers.
Nankhumwa disputed that the figure Chakwera mentioned on Saturday is contained in the recent Auditor General’s report which looks into how the government managed its finances for the past two years.
But President Chakwera executive assistant and spokesperson Sean Kampondeni said if Nankhumwa disputes that K1 trillion was mismanaged or stolen, then he should tell Malawians the correct amount that as siphoned under his party’s watch.
“Since he deems himself to have a better grasp of the extent of theft under the DPP regime than the State President, let him enlighten Malawians about what exactly his party stole and mismanaged in the nine-years it was in power,” said Kampondeni.
He said Malawi has suffered years of DPP rule.
Chakwera said the scale of the plunder is worse than a 2013 corruption scandal known as Cash gate in which about $32 million government money was looted through dubious contracts, during the administration of former president Joyce Banda.
Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako, who is also government spokesperson, also said is President Chakwera exaggerated the depth and breadth if the plunder, then the DPP should state the correct figure it looted from the public coffers.
“That is our figure as government. That is what we have got. It will be helpful to us if we hear from them how much they looted. I am sure they have their own figure which may help us to compare,” Kazako said.
The minister emphasized that the Tonse Alliance government is energized by the response from the DPP, stressing that it is a clear sign of confession that the loot happened.
Kazako assured Nankhumwa that the incumbent administration is eager to work with the DPP leadership in bringing to book everyone that looted public money.
A University of Malawi’s Chancellor College political scientist Ernest Thindwa faulted Nankhumwa and the DPP refuting the looting claim, saying DPP should stop showing its arrogance and being unrepentant or unconcerned with one of the greatest heist in Malawi.
Meanwhile, in the TimesTalk phone-in programme on Times Radio on Tuesday, over 30 callers also asked Nankhumwa to provide a contrary figure of the looted resources.
Many callers argued that whether the figure is correct or not is pointless but the fact is that there was mismanagement of public funds under Peter Mutharika’s rule including during his brother Bingu wa Mutharika DPP-led administration and that Malawians also witnessed the massive plunder of duns that former president Joyce Banda and her People’s Party, now member of the Tonse Alliance led by Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Political analyst Humphreys Mvula has said it’s time for the Chakwera administration to show that no one is immune in the fight against corruption.
“The only time we are going to fight corruption is when we hold those people in the highest offices accountable,” he said. “We should not look at Mutharika as just a former president. But now that his immunity has gone, if he was involved or leads, lead to his office, he should be arrested. It is the only time in life that people will be afraid of corruption.”
President Chakwera initiated the crackdown on corruption after Mutharika lost the June 23rd presidential vote.
Several people have so far been arrested in connection to offenses committed during Mutharika’s administration. The DPP, now the main opposition party, says the campaign amounts to political persecution — allegations the new administration denies.
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Bring facts, clueless Chakwera.
You clean the plate and then you can eat with happiness so late then clean the nyakanyaka and work go on our president
According to agulupa achakwera, revenue under-collection is equal to stealing. Failure to dispose off iddle assets is equal to stealing. Anything covered by the Auditor General’s report is equal to stollen resources. That is according to the thinking of abusa a Chakwera. Hahahaha 😂 this kind of thinking is surely laughable. Surprisingly Gospel Kazako also thinks like pedegu Chakwera on this matter. Kikiki Tonse ulendo kuphompho kuti leeewuuu dishaa!!!
DPP, tell us the correct figure.
Just read the Auditor General’s report again and you will figure out what was stollen and what was not stollen. Is failure to collect revenue mentioned in the Auditor General’s report tantamount to stollen resources? Chakwera only looked at the total figure in the report but he didn’t know the origin or the meaning of that figure. Kodi akumwa mowa wamtundu wanji a Chakwera?
Also pp nawonso amangidwe
Kazako is too childish in his responses. He doesn’t fit well in the position.
Wasting time on nonsense things
We need your promises
University school must be lowered per Tonse alliance campaign.
We need some factories per ur promise.
We need our 1000000 jobs per ur.
According to promises Tonse alliance assured the voters that the money is in the government.
Pano mwadabwa mwapezamo ndalama mlibemo,
Now starting pointing fingers to our old style.
Shouldn’t they collect that stolen money and use it for the promised? No body knew or let alone tried to confront DPP back then. You couldn’t ask them for lower fees then because you were scared of Cadets. Let the guys run the country best way they know how. Mind you they can’t do their work without cleaning up first. Why are you people interfering so much.
There is a reason why Auditors give Audit Opinions and raise Audit Querries. Opinions are opinions and Querries are raised to be responded to. But Presidents being politicians will use opinions and querries to gain political milage. Roll out Forensic fiscal investigations and take people to court and we will believe these figures.
For sure that will come. For now I’d suggest you keep quite and watch the drama unfold. If you need evidence, you can watch the houses these morons built and cars they are driving. Civil servant salary my foot.
I said it previously and I repeat it now,corruption isn’t the only reason why we are poor,it is good to curb it and seal the leaking hole but if our aim is to achieve meaningful development in Malawi we need to do more than that.The fight towards corruption is commendable but let us know that still it comes at the expense of the taxpayers money, let’s strive for a balance where our atmost energy should be rested at propelling an economic drive and achieve the much touted developments.
If so many people will be arrested but so much of our promises fails to materialise then let’s be assured that the same people who gave us the vote of confidence will become an enemy that will tout and label us a cruel regime famous for persecuting and imprisoning it’s nationals. We won an emotional vote based on the facts that the economy must be fairly shared,people supported our cause because we were deemed marginalised, our manifesto rethorics resonated with the common man .
There is a lot of mumblings amongst our voters.People says the prices of commodities where a slash was expected still things remains the same,am not sure if this is an honest opinion as I do reside outside home but if it is real then all I can say is WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT.Let me loud our State President for the effort he has taken,briefing the nation frequently through MBC Station,this is very good for the common man ,there is fake news out there that confuse people a lot.
No need for any debate or arrogance and smartness from Sean, Gospel.. bring facts like Nankhumwa has brought.. dispute his claims with facts like he has done.. zo shiner ife tilibe nazo ntchito.. za mwano ife tatopa nazo.. mwamva!
Which facts were brought by Nankhumwa? Did he not just parrot the same auditor general report Chakwera made reference to? Don’t you have a brain that you can interrogate yourself about the reason behind both Gertrude and Chisale becoming overnight billionaires? Is that not reason enough for you to say waiting a minute how come these people amassed a lot of wealth? Come on now you can do better than this boss.
How much did DPP loot? Fair question.
The problem with stealing is that you just convince yourself you will never be caught and when you are caught you give all sorts of lame excuses. Everyone has always been wondering why Malawi is on the back seat of everything. Now we know the culture of IMPUNITY WAS SO ENTRENCHED NOW ITS TIME TO STOP IT PRESIDENT LAZ HAS THE BALLS and I commend him.
If anybody stole and there is evidence why does the reverend just take them to court. Please people dont fall into this bandwagon of illiterates. Some of us have studied auditing and we know that what Chakwera said about the audit was complete garbabe. The auditor general is around why not ask him to explain. Its normal even in AGMs that auditors will be present to answer queries on their audit report.
Waistage of another 5 yrs again🙈🙈this means the you just criated this news without evidence. This news was just to please Malawians. We shall see
You’ll see when APM is locked even for a day or two and your eyes will be DILATED.
Malawi walero go to Chichiri Prison to visit Chisale please as he needs to see you 👀
mwahahahahahahaha , malawi government is full of weak minds low on intellect
Nankhumwa has a mere MSCE and no any tertiary education. He is not an intellectual. The same applies to Atupele Muluzi, he failed his law degree.
Please let’s be professional and stop politicizing everything. The moment President Lazarus Chakwera mentioned that figure I knew that was not possible. If Amayi’s government stole that much and it was all over K1.3tn is a very long way. DPP govt went haywire the moment Chilima and his cohorts started pressing for leadership change. There were not very off-track before that. But after that event everyone starting seeing losing of elections being a possibility. That’s when underhand dealings started in earnest. If you check the figures from the Audit reports for 2019 and 2018 which by the way are available on the Auditor General’s Office website. You will see that what Nankhumwa was saying is correct. What I do not understand is where the President got the K1.3tn figure. In addition, what the audit reports do is they report on the lack of following of procedures by MDAs which fortunately people who were doing that are right there in the offices. The Civil Servants running those offices are the ones who are supposed to explain rather than generalizing issues. These people should be accountable they have been there all along doing this and yet nobody accounts for anything and if it has to be correcting this it should involve firing these people who have been incompetent all this time by failing to follow procedures. Just for your noting all these people who are being arrested none stole from Govt accounts but all of them were stealing from Parastatals who do not receive money from Govt and they do not subvert their excess returns/funds to the Account Number One. Please let MACRA, MERA, etc subvert all their excess returns to the account number one. This is were most of the looting happens by Party functioneries. Let Chakwera and his Team bring facts about the K1.3tn looting rather than shoving it on DPP and Nankhumwa in an emotional out-burst. Bring the facts on the table. This is what Nankhumwa did. An opposition based on facts is what we need at this moment rather than mere rhetoric and emotional out-bursts.
Nankhumwa did not bring facts. He parroted the same auditor generals report.
Those are the facts. What did Chakwera bring?
I just feel this conversation is disrupting progress. Tonse Alliance don’t waste your time, jail those deemed to have plundered our taxes and start delivering. Zotichedwesa izi. Leave this work to the court and drive your agenda, we are eager to see the work of your hand. Because some day we shall also judge you.
I now understand that this government is travial. We have all these people saying nosense. Why not let the auditor General explain himself instead of this bastard Kampondeni or Kadzako. The report was authored by the auditor general and I dont know where Chakwera and his bunch of lunatics are explaining something which was not authored by them.
For someone who went to school, which I assume you did considering that you were able to write your view in english, to come up with such response that since the report was not authored by them then they have no right to consume it is so pathetic and ignorance of the highest order. Yet in school you used textbooks written by other people. kumayamba mwaganiza bwinobwino musanapange comment.
Munjatwa whether you like it or not. You do not have state machinery on your side to shield you from prosecution. How come Mchacha who had no car got 66 trucks, lots of small cars, houses, plots and minibuses within the period of 6 years? No man you are either not serious or plain stupid.
Politicising this will backfire
How?????
Let me explain as an expert in the field. If one takes audit figures literary is bound to make mistakes. If an entity uses mk 50 million to buy a car. The car is bought at mk50 m. If not authorized an audit report will show mk 50 million not authorized. And if there is no supporting documents it will show again mk50 million without supporting documents. If a lay man reads will say mk100m is stolen. Yet the car is there. Because a lay man just adds figures in report. This is a flaw in test of control not thefty.