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CCJP joins calls for Goodall’s resignation

 

Pressure continues to mount on Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe to step down following his dealings in the controversial K4 billion allocation to legislators.

The latest to demand Gondwe’s head is the governance arm of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP).

Besides demanding the resignation of the Cabinet minister, CCJP is also calling on President Peter Mutharika to take appropriate action against him.

Mulomole: It is a serious scandal

Gondwe has challenged those making the demands, saying unless they prove to him he committed a crime he would not throw in the towel.

But in a communiqué issued at the end of an ordinary meeting for its national and diocesan coordinators held in Blantyre, CCJP, a division of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), said it noted with concern government’s misallocation of the public funds to the members of Parliament (MPs).

“In our view, this misallocation and wanton sharing of taxpayers’ money at a time the national budget is constrained and cannot perform properly is both unethical and immoral.

“It raises a lot of questions on the integrity and commitment to good governance by the current regime. We are appalled by Parliament’s sin of cooperation in supporting illegality and impunity; disregarding its constitutional obligation of providing oversight over the Executive arm of the government,” reads part of the communiqué titled  A Call for Servant Leadership–A Principle of Integrity.

The communiqué was signed by CCJP national coordinator and diocesan coordinators from the Archdioceses of Blantyre and Lilongwe and dioceses of Dedza, Mzuzu, Karonga, Mangochi, Zomba and Chikwawa.

CCJP said the minister’s conduct was clear evidence of a leadership that is corrupt and lacks integrity.

“We join all who call for the Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB] to thoroughly investigate and clear the mist regarding the source of the funds,” reads the communiqué.

In an interview last week, Public Affairs Committee (PAC) described Gondwe’s action as an “extremely dangerous scandal” warranting an immediate resignation.

The quasi-religious body observed the action was tantamount to selfishness and was a crime Malawians should be ashamed of.

“That is a crime because public money was at stake. The taxpayers should have been agitated upon hearing their money was being abused to serve political party interests,” said PAC spokesperson Father Peter Mulomole.

He added: “That is a serious financial scandal and the minister should have voluntarily resigned as soon as the issue was unearthed. If it was in other countries the resignation would have been immediate but in Malawi people in power are immune,”

Mutharika, alongside Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president and leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera, also defied a seven-day ultimatum some civil society organisations (CSOs) gave them over the issue.

Since the issue came to light late last month, various stakeholders have called on Gondwe to step down.

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