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| National |
| PAC sabotaging anti-corruption efforts—Bingu |
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by
George Ntonya, 06 February 2007
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02:05:01
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President Bingu wa Mutharika yesterday accused the Public Appointments Committee (Pac) of Parliament of sabotaging government’s efforts to fight corruption by politicising the nomination of Tumalisye Ndovi as Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director.
Speaking in Lilongwe during a function to commemorate the National Anti-Corruption Day, Mutharika said Pac is trying to frustrate his anti-corruption drive by refusing to confirm Ndovi to head the ACB.
The President nominated Ndovi towards the end of last year to replace Gustave Kaliwo but Pac refused to confirm the appointment. The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) again wrote Pac to reconsider its position but it put its foot down, saying it would ask Parliament to protest Ndovi’s continued tenure at the ACB because the constitutional period for him to be in an acting position expired.
Mutharika told the people that attended the function—who included members of the diplomatic corps, the business community and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)—that Pac admitted Ndovi is qualified for the job but described him as “unsuitable”.
“I call upon the civil society to take up this matter. I want Njobvuyalema to tell the nation why he doesn’t want him [Ndovi],” Mutharika charged. Joseph Njobvuyalema is Pac chairman and represents the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in the committee. But it was not possible to contact him on his mobile phone yesterday for his reaction on the President’s remarks.
Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Undule Mwakasungura, who spoke at the function on behalf of the civil society, said in an interview he shared Mutharika’s concerns over the “politicisation” of Ndovi’s appointment. He said Pac should realise that it is accountable to the people so it has to give convincing reasons for its position.
“We will see what we can do as civil society. We need to discuss the matter and see the way forward,” he said.
The President said that when he announced his zero tolerance to corruption soon after taking over government from Bakili Muluzi’s administration, some people started issuing threats to him.
“Some of them have continued to do so by proposing...impeachment and persuading the Speaker of Parliament to use Section 65 of the Constitution to declare vacant seats of MPs who entered Parliament on other parties’ tickets or were independent and now support the government.
“What I am guilty of is that I have made it very hard for them to steal from the government. But regardless of whatever threats they [make], I am not scared,” said Mutharika.
“My position against corruption is even stronger today than it was three years ago,” he said, adding that he wants Malawi to be a corrupt-free country and attract as many investors as possible so that Malawians can see fruits of good governance.
He referred to Ndovi as a capable man who can make the ACB more effective.
In his speech, Ndovi said despite the challenges his office is facing, it will ensure that people who are living on corruption are brought to book and penalised accordingly.
“I must encourage Malawians to come forth to report about corruption even though at times the matters you report are not necessarily matters of corruption and may not be dealt with as you expect,” Ndovi said.
He said last year the ACB completed investigations of 358 cases, closed 232 for various reasons and referred 104 for prosecution.
But of 245 cases the bureau prosecuted in the year, 26 were concluded with 17 convictions, seven acquittals and two withdrawals.
“There are currently approximately 60 cases still within the court system at various stages of prosecution,” Ndovi reported.
He said a survey the bureau conducted revealed that 75 percent of Malawians believe that government is serious about tackling the vice and that 70 percent of the ordinary people believe that corruption was worse during Muluzi’s administration.
“Nearly 60 percent of the citizens in this country believe that it is common for citizens to pay gratification to public officials,” he said—before the President launched the survey report.
Meanwhile, the British High Commission has pledged 2.5 million pounds sterling (just over K700 million) to the ACB in the next five years to enable the office implement its strategic plan.
“Britain is very pleased to be the largest donor supporting the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Since 2001. Britain has provided approximately 500,000 pounds per year to the Anti-Corruption Bureau,” High Commissioner Richard Wildash said.
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