PP brands DPP as ‘cashgate master-minders’ in Malawi

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led government has come under attack from former ruling People’s Party (PP) for lacking transparency in handling the latest audit report that reveals massive looting of billions of public resources.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) cashbook reconstruction report on the missing billions during the DPP government under the leadership of late Bingu wa Mutharika.

Despite most government departments having internal audit functions, the PwC handed over a cashbook reconstruction report that revealed most departments, including the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), that could not supply the auditors with necessary documents for the expenditure transaction totalling K577 billion (US$1.3 billion).

P Spokesperson Ken Msonda branded the DPP as a corrupt government led by politicians who puts personal interest first at the expense of national good.

“DPP is a masterminder of cashgate in Malawi and now there is this K92 billion cash gate report which they want to shield, so we are calling on all Malawians that issues of national importance, issues of national concern we should not politicize,” said Msonda.

Msonda said the cashgate has DPP top brass as perpetrators of the looting.

“We know that some of the senior people who have been walking tall like angels are devils in a sheep skin for their involvement in cashgate, those who were even making noise during our time were actually involved and Malawians are looking forward to have their names mentioned in the K92 billion report.” he said.

Msonda added that time has come that voices from all sectors should come together to speak out against government’s secrecy of the audit report adding that government is obliged to be accountable to citizens than hiding the truth.

“We are calling upon all stakeholders like the civil society, Public Affairs Committee and all Malawians of good will to join forces in demanding justice about this report to be released in its totality to Malawians”, explained Msonda.

PwC continued from where British auditor Baker Tilly, who uncovered traces of cashgate, left.

‘Cashgate’ denotes the systematic skimming of millions of dollars of money from the government payment system.

Following the Cashgate revelations, donors withdrew aid and Malawi has been operating on a zero-aid budget, a situation that has caused misery to Malawians economically.