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There is a fuel racket at the office of the Vice President where some officers connive with service station attendants to get cash for fuel which does not get into government vehicles.
The racket has seen government losing over K800,000 in the month of September alone, according to insiders.
In a complaint letter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which Nation Online has a copy, insiders at the office of the veep say some officials have established credit facilities with four filling stations in Lilongwe, contrary to government regulations.
The officers who have been implicated in the scam is Dr M.P Magwira who is the head of finance and administration, Office Superintendent Burton Katantha, Principal Accountant a Mr Medi and Principal Administrative Officer a Mrs Nyirenda.
“Mr Medi, Katantha and Mrs Nyirenda with full knowledge of Dr Magwira obtain cash from these filling stations. They register higher figures in books that are kept by filling stations than the actual fuel that is recorded by the driver in his log book. Let’s say 30 litres is put in the vehicle, in the book at the filling station, they register 80 litres, In the process they get cash for the extra 50 litres recorded,” reads the letter in part.
“On Fridays and Saturdays, Dr Magwira goes with either of them to just record 4 to 5 government vehicles as if they have been fuelled. They get cash which they share amongst themselves,” reads the letter in part.
“With this system, government has been milked over K800,000 in September 2004 alone and this is in Lilongwe only. The credits are yet to be settled as they are still outstanding at those filling stations. You will note that government is going to foot bills that are extremely inflated because crooked people have taken the cash,” the letter adds.
When contacted for comment, Magwira referred Nation Online to Katantha at the headquarters in Lilongwe.
Katantha admitted that the office of the Vice President had some debts with some filling stations but said they all have been cleared.
However, he said there is no fuel racket at the veep’s office, saying whenever they fuel at a particular filling station they make sure that they get a receipt from that filling station “and what has been indicated on the receipt from the filling station is what is indicated in the log book and that is what we sign for”.
“Unless we take the receipt from the filling station and those are compared with the log book and there is a difference, I think that allegation cannot come in,” said Katantha.
He said they established some credit facilities with some filling stations because there are times that they do not get funding on time.
Katantha was quick to say that all the debts at the filling station have been cleared.
“It’s a pity and very unfortunate that people are saying those things and those people who are saying that do not know there is God in the world, the one who is above everything,” said Katantha.
Insiders say in September 2004, credit facilities were established at Capital Hill Filling Station for K500,000, Gemini Filling Station for K600,000, Area 18 for K300,000 and Maula Filling Station for K100,000.
But reconciliations at the office of the Vice President indicate that fuel worth K300,000 at Capital Hill Filling Station did not go into government vehicles while fuel worth K350,000 at Gemini Filling Station did not go into government vehicles while fuel amounting to K150,000 and K30,000 at Area 18 and Maula Filling Stations respectively did not go into government vehicles, according to insiders.
“Vehicles are taken there with Mr Medi or Katantha or Mrs Nyirenda for fuelling. They only register in fuel books that are kept at the filling stations themselves. Drivers are not allowed to see what is being recorded into this book. This is also contrary to government requirement that drivers sign for fuel that is put into their vehicles,” reads the letter in part.
Insiders say normal government procedure in fuel purchases is strict that fuel must be purchased using fuel coupons only and that cheques and cash or any other means are not allowed.
They also said accounts people record serial numbers of fuel coupons into a fuel register and drivers are required to sign for them in the fuel register whenever there is need to fuel the vehicles.
Once a driver has put fuel in a vehicle, he records the coupon number and amount of fuel in his log book and signs for it, according to insiders.
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