PAC to interview new ACB boss, others
The Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament is scheduled to meet from next week to scrutinise names of new appointees to public offices, including banker Lucas Kondowe who is set to become Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director.
Committee chairperson Lingson Belekanyama confirmed in an interview yesterday that his committee is expected to assess and where possible confirm names of people that have been appointed in various capacities by President Peter Mutharika.
Mutharika appointed Kondowe as ACB director on October 8 2014 to replace Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal judge Rezine Mzikamanda.
If confirmed, Kondowe will lead an ACB investigating the looting and plunder of public funds at Capital Hill popularly known as Cashgate which saw billions of kwachas siphoned by public servants and private business persons.
Before his appointment, Kondowe was the general manager (Finance, Planning and Strategy) at First Merchant Bank (FMB). He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), fraud examiner and financial forensic specialist. He holds a bachelor of business administration and master’s of business administration degrees from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa besides being a Fellow of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA).
Commentators have observed that in terms of political procedure, it is correct for the committee to meet and formalise the appointments made by the President.
According to Political Scientists Association of Malawi spokesperson Andrew Mpesi, the only problem is that constitutional procedures are not followed when firing people from such positions.
He cited an example of Mzikamanda who was praised as the man for the job when he was appointed only to be fired without reasons.
He has since urged PAC to desist from rubber-stamping government appointments.
“fraud examiner and financial forensix specialist.” My foot!! If this Lucas Kondowe is competent, how come he never detected that some cashgate money were being laundered using his bank? In other words, he is part of the cashgate problem as his bank was in the thick of it. I hope this is one of the questions that the gentleman has to answer during the confirmation hearings.