ACB quizzes MDF officers over Cashgate
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been questioning some officials of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) over some suspected fraudulent payments suspected to be part of the Capital Hill Cashgate, Army Commander General Ignasio Maulana has confirmed.
Maulana made the revelation in an interview in Lilongwe yesterday on the sidelines of a multinational training workshop on peace-keeping underway in Lilongwe.
He said though the financial scandal was not isolated to the MDF, they will cooperate with investigators and auditors. He described Cashgate as a national problem.
On how his administration plans to ensure transparency and accountability in the MDF, Maulana said the army needs to improve its public finance management system just as all public institutions.
Said Maulana: “It’s not us, but I think it’s the government which is there to ensure that justice is done. What we are doing and what we can afford to do is to ensure the information government is looking for is provided. I happen to know the ACB sent requests for information and I think we replied accordingly.
“There is nothing special with MDF handling of public money. It is about the government public financing management system if at all we have a hole in our system unless advised otherwise. We are discussing at the moment with the British High Commission on a programme to learn how the British Army does its procurement very shortly.”
In February this year, our sister paper Weekend Nation revealed several transactions at MDF had attracted the ACB after, among others, over K3 billion (US$7 299 270.1) was paid out by the military in a single day through transactions authorised by some senior military officers.
At that time, ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala then said the bureau was waiting for the forensic audit to uncover what really happened.
In another development, Maulana has welcomed his appointment to the high office with caution; asking the nation not to raise its expectations, saying much attention should be paid to the military officers than his office.
The Zomba-born commander who has served in several capacities in the MDF which he joined as an 18 year-old in 1979, pledged to strive to ensure that the MDF maintains its record as an apolitical, disciplined and professional force.
Recently, government ordered a fresh audit at the MDF and the Malawi Police Service alongside State Residences, with the ACB confirming it was investigating some transactions at MDF.
Maulana has previously served as MDF’s chief of military operations, director of logistics and commanded the 93 Brigade.
