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PAC says probe points to fraud in embassies

 Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says its investigation into suspected fraud at Malawi High Commission in Kenya points to prevalent corruption and abuse of resources in a number of foreign missions

 In an interview on why the report was still under wraps two years after the investigation, PAC chairperson Shadreck Namalomba said the new administration should “sanitize” foreign missions.

He said: “What I can say now is that what was discovered was not conclusive for a committee to make solid determinations on the matter.

“The committee , however, noted that the Nairobi situation was not an isolated incident since most embassies were not being audited then.”

Namalomba added that there were “appalling revelations” on how embassies are mismanaging public resources and that his committee hopes that the current administration “will sanitize our embassies”.

Namalomba: There were appalling revelations

He could, however, not clearly explain why the report has not found its way to the august House when several meetings have been held between 2018 to date.

But a former member of PAC ,who was part of the investigation in Kenya, said the report, compiled in 2018, has “enough substance to warrant PAC’s action” as it unearthed dirty dealings involving some government officials.

Said the former PAC member: “I am not surprised that someone does not want it out because the evidence gathered is so solid and will surely lead to prosecution.

“In this game people love to shield each other. If that is not case, let PAC present the report to the National Assembly.”

The sentiments corroborate what former PAC chairperson said in 2018 that their investigation had uncovered what he called a cartel, but he could not elaborate more for fear of jeorpadising the investigation.

In 2018, the Anti-Corruption Bureau said it had also received a complaint on the matter and that it was looking into the Nairobi issue.

But the bureau’s senior public relations officer Egrita Ndala is yet to respond to our questionnaire submitted about two weeks ago despite reminders.

The Nairobi embassy has been mired in controversy as in 2018 our sister paper Nation on Sunday revealed how government paid millions of kwacha for Malawi’s ambassador in Kenya who opted for expensive hotel accommodation at the expense of an official residence. The ambassador, by 2018, had lodged at the hotel for over two years.

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