Namalomba brands Malondera’s evacuation fund claims ‘mere propaganda’

Malawi’s government has thrown down the gauntlet to its own Public Accounts Committee chairman, demanding he produce hard evidence to back up explosive claims that over a billion kwacha was swindled during the evacuation of Malawians from South Africa.

Steven Baba Malondera, MP for Lilongwe Nyanja and PAC chairperson, had alleged that government blew a staggering MK1.6 billion on transportation during the repatriation exercise — despite the operation being estimated to cost just MK500 million — leaving a suspected MK1.1 billion unaccounted for.

But Minister of Information and Communications Technology Dr Shadric Namalomba wasn’t having any of it, hitting back hard in Parliament and branding the claims baseless propaganda.

“If there is evidence that indeed the MK1.1 billion was swindled by anyone, let him bring the evidence, but we know that there is no evidence; it was just mere propaganda,” Namalomba fired back at the House.

The minister insisted government had received absolutely no proof to support claims that funds had been misused, instead laying out an entirely different account of how the money was actually spent.

According to Namalomba, government had originally set aside a hefty MK24 billion to evacuate an estimated 15,000 Malawians from South Africa — but ultimately spent significantly less, just MK9 billion, while managing to bring home a far greater number of people than initially planned: approximately 42,000 in total.

The minister argued this actually represented prudent and responsible use of public resources, working out to an average cost of roughly MK214,000 per returnee — a figure he suggested proved government had, if anything, been frugal rather than wasteful.

But Malondera isn’t backing down, standing firm on his allegations and insisting he had already submitted supporting documents to Parliament, including a transport quotation and proof of payment from a private service provider, aimed at exposing discrepancies between alternative transport costs and the figures presented in official government reports.

The PAC chairman maintained he stood fully behind the information he’d presented, arguing the documents were submitted specifically for Parliament’s own scrutiny — leaving it up to the Speaker to ultimately determine whether they sufficiently supported the serious concerns he’d raised.

Namalomba, however, argued the entire dispute should never have played out in such a public fashion in the first place, insisting the matter ought to have been dealt with through PAC’s own official oversight processes — where relevant government officials could be formally summoned to provide clarification — rather than being aired at political rallies.

The minister was adamant that government remains fully open to scrutiny and insisted it has absolutely nothing to hide when it comes to the management of public funds, despite the escalating war of words now playing out very publicly between the two sides.

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