Malawi Speaker refers K92bn DPP-era plunder analysis document to PAC
Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya on Tuesday June 23, 2015 referred the much awaited K92 billion (US$204.4 million) forensic audit report to Parliament Accounts Committee (PAC) contrary to what was announced on Monday that Government would table the report on Tuesday.
The Speaker did not give specific reasons regarding the change despite the order paper indicating that the first business will be to table the report.
The Parliamentary Order paper indicated that Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe would present the report which has been described as a data analysis document.
The Speaker referred the report to PAC which is chaired by MP Alekeni Menyani for scrutiny and further action as required by Public Audit Act of 2003.
National Audit Office (NAO) has said the report was only outlining methodologies on the reconstruction of the cashbook and not necessarily the actual forensic audit.
In the statement dated June 19, the Auditor General Steven Kampala clarified that what was available with his office, with financial assistance from the German government was a data analysis report as a first step towards a full forensic audit which would take approximately 10 months. The data analysis cost German taxpayers 250 000 euros (K125 million), according to NAO.
Kamphasa said the data analysis had identified discrepancies between payments made from government bank accounts and cashbook records held in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).
He said: “This is a data analysis not forensic audit, from analysis alone it is not possible to establish exact amounts or causes of the discrepancies nor how many of these funds were misappropriated.”
Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokeswoman and Salima North West MP Jessie Kabwila has said the report “will have a bearing on the budget.”
The K92 billion mismanagement is believed to have happened under the watch of the first Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration led by former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika.
President Peter Mutharika has since said “whoever is found to have done anything wrong the law will take its course”.
On how his government is intending to make head way on cashgate issues, President Mutharika warned of the looming arrests of cash gate scam suspects.
“We are making a lot of progress I think more and more people are being arrested, am sure you are going to be hearing announcements soon that more and more people are being arrested for massive looting of the treasury under cash gate.
“We will make sure whoever was involved in that, is brought to book and that the properties are recovered so we are working on that”, said Mutharika.
A forensic audit report by British firm 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).
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Kadakwiza,where are you getting this reconciliation lunacy? Dpp feeding you as well? Our country has never experienced civil war since independence,that is where reconciliation applies.
We can’t have reconciliation for thieving and corruption. We might as well close our prisons and let anarchy rule.
All parliamentarian regards on it(cashate) continue to shake them until it bear the fruits they had stolen that, don’t clinch with the bad deal. Look why database has been deleted? shame to them, they don’t even intend to develop their country but stealing too much. If so Lutepo amasulidwe sinanga database yafutidwa ndekuti umboni palibe.
Shame on Mr. Speaker for his betraying your own bussines paper! MCP, you are letting us down!
It is absurd, nonsensical and extremely corrupt to close the cashgate case without bringing the thieves to book and convicting them – even post-humously. Just like a murder case will never rot until justice is served, so this one. As we strive to extradite Chanthunya, we should strive to bring behind bars the living thieves.
palibe 4get nanga amene akumva kupwetekawo
When we talk of cash plundering, the train does not stop on DPP. It goes way back the time of one party system of government, where there was no difference between the party & government. The cars from PVHO were being used by the party without paying a cent to the government. A lot of people siphoned the money, the likes of John Tembo & his cronies. UDF regime even a child knows what happened that government tenders were given to the politically connected people & they siphoned huge sums of money that’s why Mpinganjira & Muluzi when they didn’t… Read more »
My fellow Malawians let us forget about Cash gate. This is time for us as a nation to focus what we can do to develop our beautiful country. I decide there should be a reconciliation committee, so that anybody who was involved in looting of government resources must come forward so that us as a nation should forgive those people. And move forward. The more the government is trying to find out what happened to K92billion, the more is loosing the money which could help in other areas like hospitals. We need a reconciliation committee. What us Malawians we expect… Read more »
iweso ndi mbuzi eti
Tiyeni tiyende tipite tokha ku PWC tikatenge report. Akatilora?
Mayi kabwira mayi Lunguzi ndi Anzanu onse a opposition
Gwilanani manja populumutsa mtundu wa a malawi ku mbava zimenezi
Why should an audit firm do data analysis of financial information?