Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has dismissed Labour Minister Ken Kandodo from his cabinet over allegations of diverting K613,000 COVID-19 funds to pay for a government trip.
The alleged misappropriation of is part of a wider embezzlement scandal of K6.2 billion.
By Wednesday’s official exchange of Kwacha to Dollars, K613,000 is about $800 while K6.2 billion is about $7.8 million.
Speaking in a televised address to the nation, Chakwera disclosed that the minister was named to have mismanaged government funds in an investigative audit report on COVID-19 Funds.
According to the President, the audit report indicated that funds intended for the country’s COVID-19 response was diverted to fund a government trip to South Africa in 2020.
Though Chakwera noted that Kandodo had refunded the said K613,000 ($800) on February 24, 2021, his sack is necessary to send a crucial message:
“I have dropped him from my cabinet accordingly. Even though the minister has since returned the money, his usage of the funds means that the money was unavailable for its intended purpose when it was needed most.
“I cannot have in my cabinet any individuals who either spend the money budgeted for one thing on something else or do not ask tough questions to ensure that the money they are spending on something was budgeted for that purpose.”
The President has also ordered the arrest of scores of civil servants who are allegedly part of the wider misappropriation of K6.2 ($7.8 million) COVID-19 funds.
In his words, “As I speak, over a dozen individuals suspected of committing the crimes exposed by this audit report have just been arrested by the Malawi Police Service. There are no sacred cows. There will be more arrests,” he said.
According to the latest report of the Malawi COVID-19 Taskforce agency, the country has recorded 34,000 cases of COVID-19, with 1,138 deaths, as at the time of filling this report.
Two cabinet ministers in the administration of Chakwera had died of suspected COVID-19 complications.
