Malawi losing money in procurement graft – MEJN

The Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) has shown that the country is losing a lot of public funds through corrupt  practices in procurement procedures.

Speaking during the dissemination of the simplified foundation and principles of the procurement Act in Blantyre on Monday, MEJN Executive Director Dalitso Kubalasa said if procurement is done in compliance with the provisions of the Act, it will lead to great
savings of public funds and increased confidence in public institutions.

“Public procurement is a tool for spurring economic development and at the center of budget execution as most resources are spent through the activity.

“Procurement officers need to be fair, non-discriminatory and everyone should be treated equal. We need to move out from acquiring goods and services from friends and relatives but we have to procure efficiently, effective and economically using limited public money,”
said Kubalasa adding that 70 percent of the national budget is spent through procurement related services.

He called on public officials and suppliers to behave in a manner that does not raise eyebrows.

Blantyre City Mayor Noel Chalamanda said there is a need to publicize the procurement Act for everyone to be responsible in sufficiently using public funds.

“A lot of people don’t know about the Act back to back, lawyers inclusive. The Act is not only for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), police or the media, it is for all of us. We need to take
responsibility and be men of integrity when it comes to procuring goods and services,” said Mayor Chalamanda , who is also a lawyer.

“If all the resources and money we have as a nation was put to good use, Malawi could have been ten time richer than we are today but we are failing to grow because of corruption,” Chalamanda added.

The Public Procurement Act was passed in 2003 and applies to all procurement carried out by Procuring Entities using public funds.