Two Ministers congratulated PAC Chair for rejecting Chizuma as ACB Czar
“I personally like Martha Chizuma and I think she is both capable and qualified for the job”
President Lazarus Chakwera’s fight against corruption is under threat as some of his own senior cabinet ministers are said to have been part of the plot to reject Ombudsman Martha Chizuma as the new director of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)
Nyasa Times can exclusively reveal that just minutes after the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) of Parliament rejected Chizuma, who president Chakwera appointed to lead the war against corruption, two senior cabinet ministers reached out to PAC chair, Joyce Chitsulo to congratulate her and her members for the ‘good job’ well executed.
A highly placed impeccable source confided in Nyasa Times that two senior but influential cabinet ministers (names withheld) phoned and texted PAC chairlady Joyce Chitsulo and commended her for doing a great job in rejecting one of the country’s legal bulldozer who have been keeping criminals’ purses running at a double.
“The plot to reject Chizuma was orchestrated within the MCP and a sabotage from the opposition parties as some people want it to look like. Some corrupt people in the ruling see Chizuma as a threat and that once she becomes the boss for the country’s graft-fighting body, they will be busted.
“All this Chizuma resistance is coming from the declaration the president made that he will protect anyone in his government found on the wrong side of the law,” said the source.
The source further revealed that when President Chakwera met Chizuma to discuss her ACB appointment, he made it clear that he would not interfere with the operations of ACB as he wants corruption to kiss goodbye in the country.
Said the source: “The only reason Chizuma agreed to take up the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s top job was that the president promised her total independence. The president made it clear that there are not going to be any sacred cows.”
“Chizuma is caught in a political cobweb where because most of the politicians, especially in the ruling camp are not comfortable with her. They want someone they can easily twist their arm.”
The source said president Chakwera needs to seriously vet his ministers and be able to know who he can give his ‘sword of trust” to.
‘Message’
In an interview with Nyasa Times Saturday night, PAC chairman Joyce Chitsulo asked why the two cabinet ministers contacted her to congratulate her for her committee’s refusal to confirm Chizuma as a the ACB chief, she could neither deny nor confirm the matter.
Chitsulo said: “I am not going to answer that question.”
Pressed as to what exactly Chizuma failed during the interview as she does not only hold higher qualifications and a traceable good work experience but also has an impeccable record and that her achievements as Ombudsman are glaringly telling, Chitsulo said she couldn’t really tell because she has no idea as to how each member of the committee scored her during the interview.
“I personally like Martha Chizuma and I think she is both capable and qualified for the job and if it was in my power, I would confirm her as ACB director but as you know this is politics,” she said.
However, in one breath, Chitsulo said the decision to reject Chizuma was individualistic as each member scored the interviewee secretly and that she doesn’t know how each member scored.
And yet, in another breath, she said the decision to reject Chizuma’s confirmation was a collective decision by the committee after adding all the individual scores from the members to get an overall average scoring.
She was then asked that how did they add up the members’ scores, which according to her were secret and that she didn’t even see them, putting it to her that it impossible to to add figures one hasn’t seen, Chitsulo who dodged the question and digressed, said:
“All I am saying is that it is not my fault as some people are putting it. It was a group decision but as a chairperson I shoulder the responsibility.”
Chitsulo condemned some members of her committee for being unprofessional on matter as they divulged some of the sensitive information on social media.
She said: “It is very unfortunate that some members took the matter to social media. It is childish and unprofessional to take confidential information to social media.”
‘Questioning’
Nyasa Times unearthed some of the questions the committee asked Chizuma as part of the confirmation process and the very first question they asked her was:
“Are you going to re-arrest Bakili Muluzi and take him to court if confirmed as ACB director, as you know this case has been running forever?”
In her reply, Chizuma told the panel that she will have to access the case file and see the evidence in order to determine whether or not to proceed with the case.
Another question was.
“When DPP was in power, you never held them any wrongdoing but now they are out of government you are picking on them, and are you going to do the same with MCP?”
In her response, Chizuma who is currently the reigning public protector, told the committee that she doesn’t look at political parties when making determination but act on complaints brought her and said that in her many determinations she has made determinations against the government, which at that time was DPP.
And on the final part of the question, Chizuma told the panel that her job was to prevent and fight corruption regardless of who is involved.
‘Passionate’
There are reports that some members of the committee including a senior cabinet minister have had been invited to a dinner party in Area 9 in Lilongwe prior to Chizuma’s interview where they pocketed K4 million each for them to jinx the confirmation as they see Chizuma as a threat and they believe that once confirmed as boss, she would take them to the cleaners.
Legal expert Sunduzwayo Madise, who is popularly known as Mfundisi, a senior law lecturer and former Dean of Law at Chancellor College, weighing in on the matter opined on social media on his Facebook page:
“PAC’s job is not interview people but to confirm them after they successfully pass their job interviews,” said Madise.
South African-based Law professor Danwood Chirwa said: “(Martha) Chizuma is the right candidate for the job and she ticks in all the boxes. She is passionate about fighting injustice and she is professionally sound. I don’t see any reason why she has not been confirmed.
Meanwhile, MCP’s parliamentarian for Dowa North-east Sam Kawale has moved a motion in which he is asking PAC to rescind its decision not to confirm Martha Chizuma as ACB director and consequently reconsider her appointment.
President Chakwera appointed Chizuma as ACB director after she emerged tops among ten other candidates, all men in interviews for the graft-busting top spot.
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Onse omwe akulimbikila kumafuna kuba achotsedwe machende. Let Chizuma castrate them.
Joyce Chitsulo needs to be removed with immediate effect! She was part of the collusion to sabotage the President’s agenda to curtail corruption in this country.
Why would she shield cabinet ministers on a simple congratulations if there wasn’t any nefarious intentions by this group of colluded.
Her and the Ministers are enemies of the State!
These two need to be prioritised for investigations. They Must have wanted to hide their I’ll obtained wealth. 🔥
If true, Please name and shame the cabinet ministers, this is a new Malawi!
As far as Democracy is Concerned, let the interviews be conducted again rather than alleging some that they have been bribed
Leave Ken Kandodo out of cabinet at your own peril. He has following. No wonder those MCP PAC members have rejected Chizuma just to show Kwantere that he doesn’t own MCP!
And then a few days later they rescind their own decision without explanation. Tails between their legs, ngati kagalu. Now who has following? Mwina ku Kasungu komko
Kuimbira mmanja mfiti siumuna!!!
Martha Chizuma has been of late dealing with DPP people i on corruption issues.She has been skewed toward DPP only leaving TONSE culprits.
Why don’t you mention the names of the ministers? We need to know the traitors. We need to know the enemies of Malawi. Theft and corruption have taken Malawi backwards. Substandard roads were being constructed. Go to area 23 and see the new road there.
It is clearly evident that those involved in corruption are scared shit of Martha Chizuma if she were made head of the ACB. If they were innocent, they would not be doing so much to frustrate her appointment. We need a patriotic,expierienced, fearless and non-partisan Malawian to head the ACB to prepare case files and bring to court all, regardless of who they are. She appears to be the right person who can do that and we need to support her appointment without delay. She will have a very hard task ahead of her as rich and powerful people are involved who will go to any means to frustrate her job. Malawi’s ordinary people will only benefit only if and when this evil, cashed by greed, is rooted out.
After the dust settles, if proven to be true, the cabinet minister who received money along side MPs who are members of PAC (K4 million) needs to be fired from cabinet and the MPs would have breached the people’s trust for money, a corrupt act, and they not only need to be thrown out of the committee, but out of parliament as well. This right here is the beginning of the fight against corruption.
Aisazatu k4 million yo.
pano tikufuna dziko lipite patsogolo.
Lilian patelo a total waste of space. ma project akale kale a kwao mpaka lelo sanathe. amangokhalila ndalama zake.
total shit she is.
Personal vendettas are part of politics. Chitsulo represents DPP and its mission: to oppose anything. This has shown the weakness of Tonse alliance. Chizuma should have been made acting DG while she brought down the lomwe empire. Then confirm her when the political dust settles. Phuma Tonse alliance. They need good advisors.
It will be good if the names of these Senior Cabinet Ministers are mentioned so that we all know the thieves we recently voted for.
I am MCP and if indeed some cabinet ministers are behind the rejection of Chizuma then Malawi is under threat of corruption. I urge nthe president to make sure Martha Chizuma gets ACB director job.
Names of those that rejected Martha Chizuma’s confirmation were published and all MCP MPs gave her 25 out of 25. I therefore wonder who these MCP MPs may be what was published was not true. You also keep on referring to cabinet without name, nde bodzalo, why hiding his name? Mutchuleni minister yo!!
Inutu musatinamize apa.osangowatchula bwanji so that they can be embarrassed. If you have authenticate your story then no need to fear. Mention their names or else stop telling us false stories.shupit.
I think I would be committing a sin of omission before God if I do not comment on this hot topic of Martha Chizuma confirmation as the ACB Director General, herein after referred to as DG. First, the role of a Chairperson in any deliberations is to regulate the discussion so that there is order. I think Hon. Chitsulo did well on this. Another role of the Chairperson is to give guidance where obvious issues tend to be off the logic. I feel on this, Hon. Chitsulo had an oversight. She should have stated openly that the result was unrealistic; far from being logical. To have a set of members rate the candidate as exceptional, at the same time another set as very poor; should have raised a red flag. I think there is no problem to adjourn discussions when you seem not to agree on some issue. She should have guided like this, to rate someone as exceptional means that the candidate has passed in all aspects not just the knowledge, experience and skills aspects; it includes even personal traits. As regards those who rated her poorly for the position of DG, they should have been reminded that recently the same person with the same qualifications, knowledge, skills, experience, etc was rated well as an Ombudsman. So, they needed to reflect well with their new rating because some of the aspects about her have not changed; including personal traits. Perhaps with that guidance, the Committee might have agreed to revisit the process without coming out to shock the people with the illogical result. Secondly, as Ombudsman, knowledge of the laws is a must; so too as DG, an aspect which Martha should have scored highly. The other aspect which should have been the cause for worry is her neutrality as a DG; an aspect which again, she could not have failed to defend given that chance. Yes, she should have been taken to task on this, for her to prove that she would be neutral as DG while underscoring the point that she would need to be so once confirmed as DG. The way Martha was treated, it leaves many people to speculate that the process was not fair. In the instance of the interviews of the past Electoral Commission, it was easy to tell that those Commissioners were at fault because the responses would be clear and that was more reason why some of them resorted to be rude because they had known that they could not defend themselves effectively. Lastly, it is very sad for this Committee because people will tend to be scrutinising its activities most often thereby interfering with their activities. Not long ago now, one Director of Assets Declarations on his interview alleged attempted bribery soliciting by some Committee Member(s); now this. Ife tili ku ma stand watching.
Mwagwa nayo inu anthu a Tonse All Lies
Zayenera kukhala nduna zochokera ku MCP ndi komwe kuli katangale kwambiri potengera kuti akuti MCP ndi yomwe ikulamulira and Chakwera ayenera kusamala ndi mamafiya a MCP ndinakakhala ine ndi Chakwera ndinakangoyambitsa chipani mogwirizana ndi Chilima MCP imupatsa mabvuto akulu anthuwa sangasinthe zochita fitsi ndi fitsi abale anga
Are we saying that only Chizuma can do this job? Also a Nyasatimes, when are you reporting about paedophile Chiumia who was jailed for raping an underage girl.
Politics at play here
If in deed cabinet ministers are involved in the rejection of madam Chizuma then we are moving backwards as a nation.T he lady passed the interviews and i see no reason why PAC should reject her.This is very unfortunate and the president must do something with the so called senior ministers.
Please don’t glorify evil PAC members by shifting the blame to innocent ministers. This is just a propaganda. Why are the names of the ministers who congratulated the
PAC Chair withheld?. I don’t any threat to her if the names of the ministers are reveled
Those ministers should be known and taken to task , they are no different from Jane Ansah. Even those who recieved a bribe of 4 million each, we need to know them and be taken to task. Dont take Malawi for granted to gratify your self interests.
Body language ya joisi citsulo pa crews 5 ija. the position in the chair and avoidance of eye contact. kkkkkkkkk .It tells much. if u know you know
I think when they say the role is to confirm it’s also plausible and obvious they can deny their confirmation. It is not a must that they should accept everyone. That is the role of PAC a country of 18 million people she can’t be the only person capable to do the job. We replaced Jane ansah with Kachale and all is well. The president should send another name. Otherwise this will drag on. Even protest can’t force anonymous decisions to be reversed. PAC has done its job whether one likes it or not. Many before her have also fallen here
Rotten to the core
Since this discussion about Chizuma this and that started, some fail to understand why some Malawians think that it is only Chizuma who can end corruption in Malawi. Malawi nthawi zina imachititsa manyazi zochita zake. Ngati PAC using its powers through laid down procedures has made a decision, that’s it. We put these procedures for purpose. We can not all be PAC. What should Malawians know is that corruption in Malawi can only end if we strengthen our systems and laws. We should not think that corruption can end by one individual , it’s not possible. Ku ACB kwakhala anthu ambiri and we can’t say all those were failures and it’s only Chizuma who can do everything, that’s a fallacy. Let’s respect our procedures and if we want to end corruption in Malawi let’s start working on our weak laws and systems and not over praising individuals for nothing. That’s negative energy and it must stop.
Lets wait and see as heads are about to roll both in and outside the ruling zone. On the other hand if it is indeed true that the first question she was asked is as it appears above, then there seems to be and ongoing vendetta with the mentioned figure in question. Despite all these, i see the fight of corruption in Malawi as an uphill battle. Furthermore, was also contemplating that the pursuit of mayi cashgate case is embroided further ….. realising that pano ali mkati mommo. Koma abale Malawi sungamumvese!