Hook big fish—MCP

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president the Reverend Lazarus Chakwera yesterday asked authorities, including the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Malawi Police Service (MPS), to arrest senior government officials as well in the ongoing looting of public funds at Capital Hill.

Chakwera’s remarks come at a time government has suspended its Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis), and police and ACB have made several arrests of civil servants, especially accounts assistants who have been found with millions in cash suspected to have been looted from the public pulse.

Speaking at a mass rally at Kawale’s Masintha Ground in Lilongwe, Chakwera said authorities should not just concentrate on junior staff in the civil service but also arrest their bosses.

“Banks cannot just clear cheques of huge sums of money like the ones that are coming out without verifying the payment with somebody senior in that office.

“Whom were the banks contacting to clear the cheques? Do not just pick junior staff. Where are the senior officials in these transactions? Sometimes, a child learns stealing from elders,” said Chakwera.

He claimed excellence in the civil service is compromised because of poor conditions of service resulting from uneven distribution of resources and promotions as well as failure by authorities to eliminate corruption and fraud in the system.

Chakwera said excellence in the civil service is also compromised because of failure by authorities to enforce relevant laws.

He also said government’s domestic borrowing needs to follow set guidelines and limitations to avoid excessive borrowing which can negatively impact on the country’s economy.

“We should ensure that we follow laws and that we are all disciplined. We need to respect both small and big businesses,” said Chakwera.