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Muluzi abused privilege
The Presidents (Salaries and Benefits) Act Number 26 of 1994, entitles the President to import duty free items for personal use. Of course, I need not be a lawyer to know that the operative word in this Act is that the imported items must be for “personal use”.
The next question to ask is: If the President imports items—which can range from tea spoons to aeroplanes, or submarines—and then gives some of them to a political party, his business empire, or indeed his girlfriend(s), is he abusing his privilege?
My view is that the President is indeed abusing his privilege. This is because once he donates the items, they cease to be available for him for personal use. I do not think we should belabour this point. Secondly, gifts attract duty.
Perhaps the other question is: Should the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), for example, be contented when every year the President imports 1,000 motor vehicles, 900 refrigerators, one million computers, claiming they are for personal use?
Rather the law ought to go further and see to it that the imported items are indeed used for the intended purpose and not sold or donated to other people or institutions. Should this happen, the buyer or recipient ought to pay duty.
Otherwise if the MRA does not follow up, what would stop the President or indeed anyone enjoying duty free importation of personal items, from abusing the privilege? What would stop such an importer from selling the items at a profit?
Actually, this is exactly what MRA does. When NGOs, foreign diplomatic missions, church organisations, etc—which at times claim duty free importation of motor vehicles and other equipment—want to sell these items, the new buyers pay duty to MRA as a matter of law.
That is why I want to disagree with MRA when it says if the President is entitled to duty free importation of items for personal use, just because there is no limitation in the Act on the number of items the President can import, then Malawians are not obliged to know the number of items the former president imported for personal use during his tenure of office.
Former president Bakili Muluzi is said to have imported hundreds of vehicles duty free. It is a fact that he is using some of the vehicles himself, but it is also an undeniable fact that hundreds of vehicles he bought as personal items during his tenure of office are being used by UDF. Some he donated to friends, relatives and institutions.
Most of the yellow vehicles labelled United Democratic Front moving up and down in the cities as well as the rural areas, some carrying matola, are registered in the name of Bakili Muluzi. Those who doubt this can check with the Road Traffic Department. Actually, UDF deputy secretary general Paul Maulidi is on record as having said that Muluzi is the owner of all vehicles that UDF uses.
Now tell me, what qualifies as abuse of privilege if not what Muluzi did?
In fact, to say that Muluzi abused his privilege is an understatement. Grave as it may sound, the truth is that the former president facilitated avoidance of duty by UDF. No one can say Muluzi did not know he would be donating some of the vehicles he was buying to UDF, or other institutions with which he has close links.
Actually, during the campaign for the May 20, 2004 elections, Muluzi used to tell district governors and other UDF officials who would complain to him that their work was being hampered by lack of transport, to go to his office the following week and get a vehicle. Now we know he never paid duty on such vehicles.
Yet as President he swore to defend the Constitution. What signal does this send to ordinary Malawians?
As already said, from the point of view of MRA, they have no case against Muluzi, because as far as they are concerned the former president was using simply using his privilege. But there is a strong case against the former president if facilitating the avoidance of paying duty amounts to an offence. It all depends on the values the Bingu administration attaches to good governance and accountability. I rest my case.
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