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Malawi |
SOCIAL CONDIT.
Last October, rumours began to emerge of a major financial fraud involving
senior government officials.
The government was said to have lost a great
deal of public money. This provoked a public outcry
with the Opposition
calling on the government to resign
The public outcry stemmed from a revelation by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, that the government had been swindled out of more than US $3 million, in shady deals between government officials and dubious building contractors, for the construction of school buildings and surrounding fences.
At least two cabinet ministers in the United Democratic Front (UDF) government were implicated in the scam, which saw government officials accused of conniving with building contractors for work which was either not carried out or when money given to Malawi for the construction of schools was ending up largely in the pockets of senior officials and politicians who used front contractors to defraud the government.
According to a report prepared by the Public Accounts Committee, two names were pin-pointed. The Transport and Public Works Minister, Brown Mpinganjira and Peter Chupa, Minister of Labour. These were named along with top civil servants as recipients of overpayments or of deliberately receiving money for contracts that were either abandoned or left uncompleted.
The scandal mostly involved the Ministry of Education, although officers from other ministries were identified with the scam.
Even after the report was made public, the two ministers, who vehemently denied any involvement, were said to have secretly resumed work on the projects for which they received money fraudulently. Workers were seen busy day and night completing a building project at a girls’ secondary school in the capital, Lilongwe, — work which had been contracted-out to a company belonging to Minister Mpinganjira.
The key public official at the centre of the scam was a former principal secretary for education, Sam Safuli, whose statement given under caution after being arrested, led to more incriminating allegations against senior cabinet officials and UDF bigwigs. Altogether, at least 32 civil servants from the Ministry of Education came under scrutiny, plus one member of Malawi’s diplomatic mission in Paris.
Public reaction
Was there to be no end to the extent of the revelations? News of the scandal was received with disgust by most Malawians and by Malawi’s financial backers, mainly the United Kingdom. During a recent visit to Malawi, Peter Hain, the British Minister at the Foreign Office had promised Malawi a substantial increase in aid for the next five years.
This did not go down well with Britain’s High Commissioner to Malawi, George Finlayson, who had been quick to take swipes at the Malawi government for the loss of public finances through fraud at the highest levels of government. Malawi’s President Muluzi was none too pleased with the High Commissioner’s point of view. Indeed, the President spoke out angrily against what he called: «Foreign powers trying to influence his country’s political affairs».
But the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) didn’t have many kind works for the government. Its leader, Gwanda Chakuamba, called for the government to resign for what he called: «Gross mismanagement of the economy and rampant corruption, committed at a time when the country is suffering from the worst economic depression in living memory». (About the same time, the government announced plans to purchase 39 Mercedes Benz luxury cars for its ministers. In November, the same year, President Muluzi said the offending cars would be sold to the highest bidder and new ministers will have to ride in less comfort).
And what about President Muluzi himself? How did he react to the corruption revelations? He declared publicly that he would dismiss any official or cabinet minister involved in the scam.
But the Malawi Chapter of Transparency International is not entirely satisfied with the President’s declaration. In a statement, the NGO said that President Muluzi needs to show Malawians that «he is above corruption», by going further. Even those who have any conflict of interests, must resign as well.
On 1 November 2000, President Muluzi sacked his entire cabinet, after high ranking officials were accused of corruption. On 5 November, he announced a new cabinet with some of the big names in the previous cabinet conspicuously left out in the cold —including Brown Mpinganjira and Peter Chupa. Education Minister Cassim Chilumpha was also a casualty.
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