PAC meeting on forensic audit in doubt

A meeting of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to scrutinise the recently released forensic audit report into the plunder of public resources is in doubt as the committee is yet to be funded.

The National Assembly requested for funding to meet over the report three weeks before it was released, but it has not received any joy from the Treasury.

Minister of Finance Maxwell Mkwezalamba officially handed over the report to Parliament through the Speaker Henry Chimunthu Banda, but there are fears that once the House is dissolved on March 20, there will be no urgency to table the matter before the House.

Deputy chairperson of the committee David Nyadani said in an interview on Wednesday that government was simply making pronouncements to please the public, but it is failing to fund the committee three weeks after making the request.

“Yesterday [Monday] I received information that the report was now with Parliament, but until we are summoned as a committee, there is no indication we will meet. The committee doesn’t meet without money,” Nyadani said.

Section 67 (5) of the Constitution empowers the president to call for Parliament in the event of ‘constitutional crisis or emergency has arisen which requires urgent legislation or consideration by the National Assembly and for that purpose alone.’

Leader of House Henry Phoya told the business committee early this month that Parliament would only meet once to discuss an important loan authorisation bill once the institution giving Malawi the loan meets on March 27.

Section 59 (1) of the Constitution empowers the president to call for Parliament but in consultation with the Speaker, except for once Parliament has been dissolved.