Public Accounts Committee (Pac) of Parliament has demanded an explanation from the Department of Forestry on reports that government is losing out on revenue which it could be realising from its houses in Viphya Plantations, which is located in Mzimba and Nkhata Bay districts.
About 200 houses are occupied by tenants who pay rentals but are not issued government’s general receipts, a thing that has raised eyebrows.
The question Pac has asked is: “Who gets the money?”
Speaking in an interview, the committee’s Chairperson Mark Botomani said they have already summoned Principal Secretary for Natural Resources and Climate Change, Yusuf Mkungula, to provide answers to the committee this week.
Botomani said among others, his committee wants Mkungula, who is the ministry’s Controlling Officer, to respond to audit queries of 2019-2020.
He said the committee will take advantage of the interface to delve deeper into the houses mater.
Botomani said Pac is surprised that it had to take Natural Resources and Climate Change Minister Michael Usi to discover the “syndicate”, adding there could be more happening in the department.
“This is an emerging issue and we will need to get proper explanations about it. If we will not be satisfied with the response, we will further extend this summons to the Secretary to Treasury for him to zero in on this matter because it is a serious issue,” Botomani said.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira commended Pac for following up on the issue.
Kambwandira, however, doubted if much will come out of the interaction, saying the meetings are often just ceremonial.
He noted that in most cases, errant Controlling Officers go unpunished because most Malawians do not follow up on important issues such as the one at Chikangawa.
“We call for personal accountability on errant Controlling Officers,” Kambwandira said.
The 200 houses are among 400 which are currently occupied by civil servants of different grades working under the Department of Forestry in Viphya Plantations.
After inspecting the houses, Usi said in some cases, occupants were paying as low as K200 while others were not paying any rentals at all.
Raiply Malawi, which holds the largest concession in the plantation, said it is ready to renovate the houses and manage them in a win-win partnership with government.
