Public Accounts Committee (Pac) of Parliament has said the two-day discussions with three investigating agencies that were tasked to probe the alleged unexplained wealth of the former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, have shown that they have either decided to hide information or completely failed to perform their duties.
The committee has decided to abandon the route of entrusting the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), National Audit Office (Nao) and Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) with the responsibility of probing the alleged K72 billion estate, opting for a public inquiry.
The decision was made yesterday after several committee members including Mzimba North lawmaker Agnes Nyalonje and Karonga Central legislator Frank Mwenefumbo asked the agencies whether it is worthy for the country to continue giving them funds for the investigation considering their apparent failure to make headway.
ACB said it is struggling to get information on bank accounts and property in foreign countries while Nao said it needs support from other agencies and FIA said it is only involved in intelligence.
“My feeling is that, collectively you have failed the country. We entrusted you with the responsibility of tracking unexplained wealth to ensure that some people are not abusing public offices for their personal gains but you are here showing us that you are not doing that,” Nyalonje said.
Mwenefumbo said apart from the billions of public funds that are feared to have gone to one person, the agencies were also supposed to consider that Mutharika’s family members may be equally concerned that the name of their relation keeps popping up in an investigation that is taking forever.
Auditor General, Stephenson Kamphasa, said each investigation has its own dimension and countries differ in the handling of investigations.
“It is very tough and you have to take some time and you need to be very patient. That is why some investigations take years because you need to know how to get around the system to get what you really wanted to get. There are times when you can actually feel that you have completely failed but then later on, you find that you have managed to get it,” Kamphasa said.
ACB Director of Investigations Dan Mponda said any rush to make conclusions on whether there is a case or not would not be good for both the public and the Mutharika family.
“I thought we need to avoid, at this time, to say whether there is a case or not until the investigation reaches logical its conclusion,” Mponda said.
Pac Chairperson Alekeni Menyani said the committee thought the agencies would provide information on the former leader’s alleged wealth and not excuses and it was important to turn to a public inquiry for the truth.
Menyani said all relevant stakeholders including Mutharika’s estate administrators, Fiscal Police, Interpol would be invited to an open-to-media inquiry slated for July this year.
“We cannot just be going in circles. As Karonga Central has said, the late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika was a father, was a brother, was an uncle. There are people that would want to see a conclusion, in either way, of this issue. Whether the verdict will be that there was this issue or there was not, they are also tired of being kept in suspense.
“Others are sympathisers, others are supporters of the same but the committee is not a court. The committee is an oversight body. It is simply looking at whether public resources had been used in the buildup of the wealth or not,” Menyani said.
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