Malawi councils under probe

The Malawi government through the ministry of local government has disclosed that it will probe councils following reports of financial mismanagement.

The financial audit task comes after reports of funds meant for developmental projects being diverted into personal accounts of council officials.

Confirming on the local press, minister for local government Kondwani Nankhumwa said the practice of looting funds at councils has paralyzed progress of projects.

Nankhumwa added that eight councils have failed to give the ministry a report on how they spent funds from government.

“They are failing to account the money, some were given money as far as K200 million some K400 million and they are failing to give a report, so we are investigating that.

“We hope before the end of this year, we will have a report and we will act according to the laws of this country,” said Nankhumwa.

Malawi is one of the countries in the world with reports of plunder of public funds by public officers. Some quarters have argued that corruption has reached a shameful level due to lack of information as citizens are denied the right to know what is happening in public offices because there is no access to information law.