Malawi’s president on Friday threatened to sack or jail any of his new ministers found guilty of corruption.
President Bingu wa Mutharika issued the warning a month after an audit report exposed high-level corruption in the Malawi Police Service and the Home Affairs administration.
Wa Mutharika, who was re-elected for a second term of office in May, has been lauded by Western donors for his stance against graft in the impoverished country.
”You should not misuse or steal public funds … all those that use corrupt contractors to get commissions, I will prosecute, jail and fire you,” wa Mutharika warned at an orientation workshop for his cabinet.
The Economist Intelligence Unit has forecast Malawi will have the world’s fastest growing economy after Qatar this year, but annual gross domestic product is estimated at only $313 per capita and Aids has orphaned about one million children.
The audit accuses Home Affairs and police officials of stealing 820-million Malawi kwacha ($5,80-million).
”Perceptions in the media that government only prosecutes opposition members should be a thing of the past, I will not spare you this time,” the president said.
Former Malawi president Bakili Muluzi has been under investigation for the last two years on suspicion of siphoning money from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and other donors.
He was arrested in February and charged with 87 counts of diverting money into his private account. He denies any wrongdoing.
Muluzi was barred from contesting the presidential election in May, which was won by wa Mutharika.
According to official records, the country allegedly lost close to $100-million in high level corruption during Muluzi’s decade in power. — Reuters