US wants Malawi to prosecute K800mil health scam suspects
United States government, through its embassy in Lilongwe, has expressed discontent over the manner the Malawi government has treated employees of the Ministry of Health who embezzled money for the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) HIV and Aids project.
About 63 officers from the Ministry of Health were suspended for allegedly embezzling project funds meant for the CDC, HIV and Aids project.
The malfeasance involved K875.7 million but later the number of suspects were reduced to 38 who have either just been transferred to other government departments or within the ministry of health or retired from the civil service.
The US Embassy public affairs officer Edward Monster feel Malawi government is treating theft with kid gloves and that merely transferring suspects will not deter other potential wrongdoing and sets a very bad precedent.
Monster says employees found to be guilty of wrong doing should be subjected to “appropriate disciplinary action, including termination of employment and prosecution.”
The US embassy calls on Malawi government to “take prompt, stern disciplinary action” against the employees involved in the health scam.
Minister of Health Peter Kumpalume is on record saying that as a politician he would have loved to see all the implicated fired, but said he respected the rules of natural justice.
“As a politician yes, these people need to go, but we must follow procedures and hear their side of the story,” he said in quoted reported by The Nation newspaper on January 9, 2017
In December 2015, the 63 officers were suspended after CDC, an agency of the Government of the United States of America, raised the red flag that some Ministry of Health officers collected allowances without undertaking field trips for an HIV and Aids programme.
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Its very sad that azungu are able to see what we can simply do yet they only help us ife eni beneficiaries we cant even feel the pain to make us angry and take the perpetrators to court that can send strong signal to forecoming offenders. Azungu go back home, let us suffer to death, we dont deserve any help we immoral people.
Malawans,are your heads working normally? How would you send a thief to catch a thief? Realistically,everybody in the Malawi Government is a thief from the President to the last messenger.Malawi has reached a zeith of no return as far as theft and corruption are concerned,it is indeed,treacherous and shameful that have put our nation the most corrupt State on our planet.The reason here is first and formost,electing leaders on the grounds of ethnicity and tribal affiliations,this is what we are getting today.Months ago,Malawians from the South and Central used to blame the Northerners for everything despite the fact that Northerners… Read more »
Kkkkkk…? what a nation??? US has spoken at last. Its up to MW govt to do its home work wisely and carefully, failing which is just like mixing human feaces and pizza giving it to the minorished child. Malawi simply needs overhauling its governance policies or simply a small blood shed. Otherwise we a rot dead walking people.
u all thieves
Kampalume is confused and probably was drunk or smoked something harsh or both. The US wishes to see the culprits prosecuted. Meaning employ the rules and procedures that you mention to bring the culprits to book. Transferring such people from one government department to the next is not the same as as respecting rules and procedures of justice as you said. The US wants to see theft cases brought to court as soon as possible because the money they donated is gone. This is tax payers money and they wish to account for it. Since it has not gone to… Read more »
Natural justice my foot. These are thieves who should be treated as such. Problem is that money stealing by public officers usually involves those at the top, sometimes including Principal Secretaries, or even Ministers and the fear is that junior officers will implicate bosses. Hence the delay in prosecution.
Mmmmmm,shameeeeee to the leadership of this country,a warm heart of thieves..zovetsa chisoni,Chakwera akayankhula kumati your treating this thieves with kid gloves mumatii paja sakudziwa chimene akunena,ndye tiziti even America is crazyt too??? Coz they’ve said the same statement imene ananena chakweratu apa..please donors take of your money when you want to help this rotten country,we have thieves.mmmmhhh,Malawi for sale ndithu.
Dr. Kumpalume you are one of them thats why your are double tongued. Just last year when the Presidenty visited the North and another scandal engulfed Mzuzu Central Hospital and he ordered that these guys be prosecuted, you went on top of the anti hill and even organised an impromptu meeting with staff of that Hospital purporting that action will be taken. Has anything come out yet Nothing. Since you became the minister responsible how many such scams have occurred in your hospitals from drugs, laboratory and laundry equipment, money who knows next we will hear vehicles have changed ownership… Read more »
Malawi the land of thieves.
Malawi, a nation of pathetic thieves beyond rehabilitation.
Kkkkkkkkkk thats a good description of Malawi govt. Why only our fellow Southern African nation Malawi and not much from our other neighboring countries?