Parliament summons ACB over 13 cashgate files
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (Pac) has summoned the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to explain progress that has been made on the issue of 13 case files of individuals named in the K236 billion forensic audit report.
Pac Chairperson, Alekeni Menyani, confirmed yesterday that the meeting will take place on Monday and Tuesday next week in Lilongwe.
“As you are aware, we indicated that the names of individuals involved would be revealed by January 31 2017. But there were other issues which cropped up. The most notable one is the Attorney General’s legal opinion on the matter, which made it difficult for us to reveal the names,” Menyani said.
He added: “But all along, there has been pressure from the general public over the issue. We have, therefore, called different stakeholders to get details of the issue.”
Other people expected to be present at the two-day indaba are Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale and Auditor General Stephenson Kamphasa.
“We thank the Speaker [Richard Msowoya] for his guidance over the issue. We believe that the meeting in question will answer the questions people have on the issue,” Menyani said.
Kaphale stopped Pac, National Audit Office (NAO) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from releasing names of companies and businesspersons implicated in the K236 billion Cashgate report before government verifies the mentioned people and businesses’ wrongdoing.
The 13 files detail payments that were made to 13 companies from Malawi Police Service (MPS) and Malawi Defence Force (MDF). The total payment made to the 13 companies was K17.1 billion.
Pac Vice Chairperson, Kamlepo Kalua, has been saying that seven ministers are among the names linked to the issue.
The money was initially K577 billion, before it was reduced to K236 billion.
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