Chakwera equally outraged and anguished as is with all Malawi over revelation in the CoVID-19 funds audit report

* But I can assure all of you that there is no place on earth where these criminals will hide

* If it were not for this audit, we would have no evidence of the crimes that have been committed

* Law-enforcement agencies are being funded adequately and are working independently

By Duncan Mlanjira

In his national address to unwrap the findings of of the investigative audit report on the usage and accountability of the K6.2 billion CoVID-19 funds, President Lazarus Chakwera says he is equally outrage and anguish as is with all Malawians over the revelations of the massive plunder.

He encouraged the public to continue with their vigilance in joining hands in fighting against this criminal enterprise until it is defeated.

“In view of these findings, I am sure you can now see why I was right to order this audit. If it were not for this audit, we would have all remained ignorant about how much of the K6.2 billion was well spent, how much was unspent, how much was misspent, and how much was stolen.

“If it were not for this audit, we would all be left to believe the inaccurate reports submitted by those in the public service who have mastered the art of stealing public funds and covering their tracks.

“If it were not for this audit, we would all be left to believe the lies of those who wanted to discredit the audit before it came out and discredit those of us who have vowed to fight this cancer of corruption so that we do not pursue the culprits.

“If it were not for this audit, we would have no evidence of the crimes that have been committed or the identities of those who committed them, which has the risk of punishing innocent civil servants together with the guilty ones.

“I must therefore thank so many of you who have been lending your voices to support my decision to see this audit report done and released.”

He took cognizance that without an active citizenry and a vigilant press calling for accountability — coupled with laws like the Access to Information Act that his Administration operationalized last year — has been effective to expose corrupt government officials who had been determined to hide the crimes they committed before.

“But I can assure all of you that there is no place on earth where these criminals will hide. For my part, as the person you have trusted to lead you into battle, I promise that this audit is only the beginning, for I have every intention of conducting similar audits into other funds spent on Covid since before I took office, as well as audits into other public funds spent by various institutions.

“As a case in point, the infrastructure projects that my Administration is constructing across the country, including the roads and bridges in the North that the Vice-President has been tasked to inspect until I appoint a Minister of Public Works, will also be subject to audits to catch those who use such projects as a chance to steal.

“I have decided to use independent and investigative audits to ensure that our pursuit of thieves is backed by evidence that will stand up in court.”

He then announced other actions that must be taken by other independent branches of Government and independent governance institutions, which have been given vote of confidence that he himself will offer full support to carry out their mandates.

As the Constitution places the mandate of arresting suspected criminals on law-enforcement agencies like the Malawi Police Service, the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and the Financial Intelligence Authority, Chakwera said “for the first time, these are working independently and are being funded adequately”.

“As such, those of you running these institutions must stop letting the country down and do your jobs in bringing those implicated by this report to book, or else I will have you replaced.

“The Constitution places the mandate of trying and sentencing criminals on the Judiciary, but I think I speak for all Malawians when I say that we do not want these crimes to take years to adjudicate.

“I have therefore directed the Minister of Justice to engage the Chief Justice on the support the Judiciary needs to expedite the cases related to this K6.2 billion, as well as all open and past cases related to the theft of public resources.”

He also called upon the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) to enforce its compliance with procurement laws and procedures and to do its job with a sense of urgency.

The PPDA should ensure that “all companies named in this audit report for defrauding Malawians, as well as the individuals who direct those companies, are debarred from supplying goods, works, and services to government forthwith”.

He disclosed that the taskforce that he had directed the the Vice-President Saulos Chilima to lead  and recommend radical changes to the structure of the entire civil service, as well as the entire system of allowances, employment contracts, and procurement in the public sector to root out corruption — is due to submit its report to his office in the next four weeks.

“After which we will take the next steps towards my goal of overhauling this broken and rotten system from top to bottom.

“As far as I am concerned, anyone who steals or wastes public funds is a traitor to our country. The sad reality though is that there are so many public servants who are so eager to get rich that they are willing to defraud their own country.

“The other sad reality is that there are so many private citizens who are so eager to access public services and government contracts that they are willing to corrupt public servants to defraud their own country.

“If you are in that boat, then you can count me and my Administration among your enemies, because I will fight you until you are defeated — no matter how long it takes.

“Aside from that, I pray that God’s curse will rest on anyone who steals even one kwacha of the public funds that God has entrusted us to use in serving Malawians.”