Msaka says Chakwera trying to hoodwink Malawians on K6.2bn Covid-19 funds scam
The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has accused President Lazarus Chakwera of trying to hoodwink Malawians that he is cracking down on culprits who misappropriated K6.2 billion Covid-19 response funds, faulting the decision to include in the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 representatives of Civil Society Organizations, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC).
DPP spokesperson on legal affairs Bright Msaka, who is also the party’s vice-president (Eastern Region), said in a statement that it is “most improper” for the President to compromise the ACB and the MHRC by including them on the Covid-19 Taskforce.
He said President Chakwera’s reasoning for the inclusion of governance bodies is “either faulty or outright suspicious.”
Msaka said: “It is obvious that the President wants to gag the two independent institutions. There is no way an oversight body, such as the ACB, should be placed in a situation where, if something should go wrong in the Covid Committee, the ACB would be investigating itself and arrest itself. It does not work like that.”
He continued: “We do not think that the President is being naive. We think the President is cleverly trying to create complete paralysis of the two independent institutions by stifling the kind of oversight intended in the Constitution and in the law.
“How can a referee be a player in the same game he is officiating? How can a person be expected to chase with the hounds, and at the same time run together with the hare. How can a judge participate in an enterprise over which he later has to adjudicate upon?”
Msaka said President Chakwera is “trying to hoodwink Malawians into believing that he is serious about getting to the bottom of the K6.2bn debacle.”
He said the inclusion of the ACB, and the Malawi Human Rights Commission in the Covid Committee is “a ruse “ intended to prevent the truth from coming out.
“Malawians will, however, not be deceived,” he warned.
But a private-practising lawyer Gift Nakhuni has differed with Msaka, saying there was nothing wrong with Chakwera including the two institutions in the taskforce.
He pointed out that ACB has a Corruption Prevention Department set up to deal with situations just like what the President talked about.
“If the officer or officers do not act according to their mandate it will be the officer(s) not the institution at fault. They will be the ones to be prosecuted and not the institution.
“Its sad that the Corruption Prevention Department of the ACB is not given the prominence it deserves. We are better off nipping corruption in the bud than letting it happen,” said Nankhuni.
It is transpiring that the K6.2 billion government released last August was abused by public servants by paying themselves unjustifiable allowances, failing to buy equipment meant to fight the pandemic and inflating prices of items sourced.
MHRC has since demanded prosecution of people that abused the Covid-19 funds.
“Where the audit finds that funds were abused in the expenditure of the K6.2 billion, the commission demands the expeditious prosecution of all culprits as per the laws of Malawi,” the commission’s executive secretary Habiba Osman said in a statement.
However, the commission strongly calls on government to expeditiously act on the questions and concerns that have arisen and continue to arise on the K6.2 billion government released for the Covid-19 fight.
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We told you chakwera does not know anything apart from trying things . He has a lot of advisors who are illiterate and are just church elders a Assemblies of God Church . What advice with they give him ? We are a country too poor and led by poorer intellectuals – a chilima lero is on holiday palibe Chomwe anganene tamabala wawameza.
the idea here is to be proactive and not reactive…the president is in order…kuzolowera kuba basi…tikufunika kuteteza komwe kumabedwako osati kuzateteza zitabedwa kale…anthu agawana kale ma allowance nde mungaipangenso recover? achina Jappie ndi Botomani anabwenza? tikufuna azikalepheretsa kuba at the exact point yoberayo not being reactive zochedwesa zimenezo
Ma kadeti dikirani mpaka 2050. You will make noise but you will not succeed. Opposition ya pa Africa ndi chibalo chozula mitengo.
Chakwera is a waste man. Zero vision, highly incompetent, nepotistic, opportunistic, good preacher, weakling of a man. Sitiphulapo Kanthu apa. Country is visionless, confidence on a downward spiral. The whole Malawi watsopano ordeal feels doomed. Maybe this is what happens when you have a country made up of refugees of Chaka Zulu n co’ wars.
I don’t understand your logic here mr Msaka, u accepted police officers to guard exams and provide security during writing these exams then at the same time when someone caught cheating it’s the same police officers who turn to arrest the cheater but now u are saying the ant corruption bureau mustn’t be involved.?
May be u are scared coz your Cadets are still in the system then your tactics of sabotage won’t work according to your plan .
We too can’t understand your example. It’s rather a shallow way of thinking. The police are there to guard the exam and it’s their job to arrest any suspicious activity. What’s wrong with this?
nde whats wrong kuteteza ndalama zisanabedwe unlike kudikila zibedwe umboni usowe tilephere kupanga recover ndalama zobedwazo, better to send ACB ikakhale komweko kut anthu asakabe rather kudikila zibedwe nde nkumakafufuza zitatha ndalama, that would be useless as it has proved all this time
Hahahaa, which school did the president attend? C’mon Mr. President, do you have grey matter between your ears?
should have just voted for UDF, at least they wouldn’t be clever enough to steal with ACB
ACB and MHRC are supposed to be totally independent. If the president orders them to be part of the Task Force, then should there be any risk lapses on the funds, they should not be taken for excuse to say nothing has gone wrong because these two institutions have been part of the Task Force.
begs the question, was ACB complicit in the covid gate plunder? If so, who is going to investigate them?
The minister of finance is part of the task force. Let them identify someone from national audit office or central internal audit to be on the task force. Not ACB. The prevention element of ACB is through public/civic education and trainings.
I propose a forensic audit on illegally acquired wealth of Bright Msaka, an aspiring leader of DPP UDF alliance, and Presidency
President Chakwera has shown that he just overeacts to situations and spends too much time dealing with small issues. He should focus on more tangible things that will move the country foward. He could have delegeted the issue to other people. Now almost a month the whole president dealing with this issue. SHAME!!
Sike Transport! Here today, there tomorrow!