Wa Jeffrey says ‘DPP is one man operation’:  Mutharika in blistering attack on Joyce Banda over Cashgate

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary General Grezelder Jeffrey wa Jeffrey says the ruling party is controlled by one man – President Peter Mutharika – and cannot be associated with people who were involved with the looting of public resources at Capital Hill, dubbed Cashgate.

The assertions come at a time when former President Joyce Banda has claimed through her People’s Party (PP) that she rebuffed an electoral alliance with DPP which in retribution wants to arrest her for her alleged role in the sale of the presidential jet and Cashgate.

Speaking during the launch of the DPP manifesto and May 21 2019 elections campaign at Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Lilongwe on Sunday, Jeffrey went to town on the former president claiming her hands are not clean hence the decision by Mutharika not to allow her join DPP.

“There is a former president who instead of resting to enjoy her pension is busy with politics. Joyce Banda has done well to join forces with Malawi Congress Party and we will
destroy them together,” said Jeffrey.

“What JB does not know is that DPP is one man operation and President Mutharika rejected her to work with DPP because she is tainted with Cashgate,” she added in a televised campaign rally.

Jeffrey further claimed further that Cashgate involved PP and some MCP officials and hence the decision by MCP to accept a triple alliance with PP and Freedom Party of Banda’s former veep Khumbo Kachali.

“JB must know that she is being investigated and she will soon be forced to return the money she received after selling the presidential jet. We are glad that she has formed an alliance with MCP but what she should know is that DPP never loses elections,” she added.

In a telephone interview later Jeffrey told Nyasa Times that DPP is” one man operation” because it has not joined forces with many parties as what MCP has done, saying their alliance with tiny party Depeco of Chris Daza cannot be compared with the alliances other parties have made.

In his speech, Mutharika also unleashed a blazing attack on Banda, accusing her of discrediting his administration to the international community.

“For four years she has been telling foreign governments including America, British, Nigerian, and Liberian that I rigged the [2014] elections.

“Now she is back and is claiming we wanted to work with her. No way,” said Mutharika.

Banda’s top party officials told a news conference in Mzuzu on Saturday that DPP is bitter because PP rebuffed several requests for an electoral alliance in the May 21 2019 elections.

But Mutharika refuted this, saying his party has never spoken to PP because it has never been interested to be associated with PP.

“There is no way, no way, That’s not true,” said Mutharika.

“She [Joyce Banda] sent two people to discuss with me but I refused. Even PP secretary general Ibrahim Matola came to see me but I rejected to meet him and I sent him away from the gates [of State House].

“There is now way we can associate with Cashgate people,” said Mutharika.

Chairman of the organizing committee for the launch, veteran firebrand politician Brown Mpingajira claimed that by accepting JB to join MCP it has shown that the two are birds of the same feathers hence flocking together.

“When you see a thief choosing one house to go and hide in a village it shows that he or she has the confidence that he will be shielded,” said Mpinganjira.

Minister of Information Nicholas Dausi in an interview with Nyasa Times after the rally
also claimed that JB was refused permission to rejoin the DPP because of her role in Cashgate.

But MCP and PP are on record to have vehemently denied claims by DPP that JB is associated with cashgate and the sale of the presidential jet.

PP’s Matola said the tactics deployed by DPP “will not work”, and that his party’s relationship with MCP is not shaken.

“The DPP was approaching us, but we said no, several times. They are now shedding crocodile tears, and they are trying to disturb what we have with MCP, but that will not work,” said Matola.

When in power, Banda ordered a forensic audit undertaken by British firm RSM (formerly called Baker Tilly) covering a randomly selected six months period—between April and September 2013.

The audit established that about K24 billion was siphoned from the public coffers through dubious payments on inflated invoices and goods or services never rendered.

In May 2015, a financial analysis report by audit and business advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) also established that about K577 billion in public funds could not be reconciled between 2009 and December 31 2014.

However, the K577 billion figure was later revised downwards to K236 billion by another British forensic auditor.

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