By Cathy Maulidi:
The office of the Attorney General has come under scrutiny, with Leader of Opposition asking the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) to step forward and investigate the office over recent payouts as part of its general corruption crackdown.
Speaking at Parliament after he attended a Business Committee meeting ahead of mid-year budget review meeting that is expected to start next week, Leader of Opposition George Chaponda said he is perplexed by the level of payouts which the Attorney General (AG) office has been approving recently.
“During the Business Committee meeting, I have asked that the President should come and appear before the House to respond to many issues including this issue of corruption,” Chaponda said.
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According to Chaponda, the opposition has filed three questions to the President which borders on corruption and the fuel and Affordable Input Programme (AIP) crisis.
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Chaponda wondered why the ACB is quite on the fight against corruption.
“Corruption in Malawi has reached unfathomable levels. Public funds are being squandered through questionable processes, while the Attorney General appears to have abdicated the duty of safeguarding public resources. The Anti-Corruption Bureau remains silent, failing to act on the malpractice,” said Chaponda.
He also highlighted as suspicious the involvement of Secretary to President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba in fuel and fertiliser procurement.
Yet, against all these questionable developments, the President has chosen to keep quiet.
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Chaponda said Malawi is facing multiple crises. At the heart of it all is what he called “leadership vacuum”.
“President Chakwera’s silence on corruption and fuel crises is deafening, and his cabinet’s attempts to address these issues are woefully inadequate.
“He promised to ‘clear the rubble’ and fix broken systems, yet we see no commitment to fighting corruption, securing basic needs, or upholding human rights,” he said.
According to Chaponda, Members of Parliament have a constitutional obligation to hold the President accountable, hence their desire to have him appear in the House.
Chaponda’s comment comes as the AG has consented to a payout of $33.3 million to a foreign fertiliser supplier Africa Investment Group (AIG).
Another payout is that of K14.5 billion to Victoria Pharmaceuticals which had a business with the Central medical Stores Trust.
University of Cape Town Professor of Law Danwood Chirwa said the AG’s office should make public the legal opinion that led to the consent orders.
He said doing so would help the public appreciate the reasoning behind the decisions while failure to do so would create a public perception of alleged corruption.
In his response, AG Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda said he would not make public the legal opinion but that he is willing to appear before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee or the whole House to explain what happened.
He also backed his decision to consent to the payments saying it would be abuse of his office if he denied ‘justifiable’ payments.
