By Watipaso Mzungu
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), has demanded that President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera should fire the Minister of Information Gospel Kazako and Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Works, Nancy Chaola-Mdooko, for alleged failure to exercise due diligence and apply austerity measures when approving the obscene allowances and foreign trips.
The demand by the firebrand human rights watchdog follows revelations that seven board members of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) blew K 46 million on a learning trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
MACRA is under the Ministry of Information.
As if they did not want to be outdone, members of the board of the Roads Authority (RA), which is under the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, spent K39 million on a trip to Pretoria.
And in its wisdom, CDEDI thinks this is an early Christmas party for the top Tonse Alliance government officials to enjoy and enrich themselves, families and cronies.
CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa, in a statement issued today, has challenged President Chakwera to decisively act on the reported looting and plunder of public funds through the two ministries.
Namiwa said it is sad to note that parastatal boards are outclassing each other in spending obscene sums of public finances on board meetings outside the country when the poor taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet.
“CDEDI and indeed Malawians of good will are shocked with the sharp increase in the number of Tonse Alliance top government officials implicated in the willy-nilly siphoning of the scarce and hard-earned resources. It beats everyone’s imagination to read such reports bearing in mind that this current administration was ushered in on the cards of correcting the mistakes of the past regime. The impression and tone the President Chakwera administration is sending out there is that of ‘it’s our turn to eat, who cares,” he says in the letter.
Namiwa is further demanding that on top of dissolving MACRA board, Chakwera should also dissolve boards for the Roads Authority, NOMCA, Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) and EGENO.
“Malawians cannot entertain selective application of justice. Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) and the rest of the boards should be investigated. The Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Mr. Zangazanga Chikhosi should be fired for his participation in the looting and plunder of public funds. The SPC should immediately stop doubling as board chair for NOCMA and EGENCO for fear of conflict of interest,” he demands.
Namiwa threatens that failure by President Chakwera to act within reasonable space of time will force Malawians to protests this free for all plunder of public funds.
