The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) says the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s investigation into State House’s K12.5 million payment to Crossroads Hotel is a rushed and incomplete job which CDEDI suspects was done just to clear some names.
CDEDI Executive Sylvester Namiwa has said this in a letter dated 3 November and addressed to ACB Director General Martha Chizuma.
Last year, there were allegations that State House spent K65 million on hotel bills for security trainers staying at Crossroads Hotel. State House was also accused of paying an inflated bill of K225,000 per room for the three experts and an agent identified as Miguel Elias.
However, the ACB found that there was no inflation of figures by State House on the payments that were made to Crossroads Hotel and that the payment made by Miguel Elias of Chitundu Distributors to Crossroads Hotel for the accommodation did not come from State House Account.
“K12,500,000.00 payment was made by State House directly to Crossroads Hotel towards the accommodation costs of the guests.
“There was no corruption in the payments that were made to Crossroads Hotel as alleged in the complaint,” the bureau has said in its statement.
However, Namiwa has insisted that the hotel already confirmed to the local media that visitors were accommodated in suites that cost $350 per night but after negotiation they were offered at $300 yet rooms cost between 65,000 to 81,000 Kwacha.
“Knowing that these are public funds it baffles the logic that the ACB took no interest to investigate what appears to be an inflation of prices but instead rushed to close the case,” he said.
He then described the ACB investigation as a rushed and incomplete job which CDEDI suspects was done just to clear some names that were mentioned in the Crossroads saga.
Namiwa said the probe does not only compromise Chizuma’s image but is also too costly to economy.
“The statement the ACB has issued, therefore, has vindicated your critics madam, that your mission at the ACB is nothing but to ensure the protection of the current administration, specifically those from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) witch-hunting tactics,” Namiwa said.
