Vice President of Malawi Saulos Chilima has been accused of corruption, with theAnti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) saying the vice president is one of the people it has extensively investigated to the point of concluding that they indeed conducted themselves corruptly in dealing with businessman Zuneth Sattar.
Sattar is a British national and businessman who has allegedly been bribing public officers in the Malawi Government in exchange for Government contracts.
According to a report which ACB sent to President Lazarus Chakwera, in the four years between 2017 and 2021, the Malawi Police Service and the Malawi Defence Force awarded 16 contracts worth over 150 million US dollars to five companies belonging to Sattar.
The Bureau also found that 84 individuals, including 53 public officers, allegedly received money from Sattar in 2021.
Out of the 84, thirteen have been extensively investigated to the point of concluding that they indeed conducted themselves corruptly in dealing with the businessman. Four of these are the Vice President, fired Inspector General of the Malawi Police Service George Kainja , the Chief of Staff for State Residences, and the Chairperson of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority.
Acting on the report, Chakwera has stopped delegating work to Chilima who also serves as minister responsible for public sector reforms.
“The best I can do for now, which is what I have decided to do, is to withhold from his office any delegated duties while waiting for the Bureau to substantiate its allegations against him and to make known its course of action in relation to such” said Chakwera in his speech yesterday.
Chilima who leads UTM party was elected with Chakwera in the 2020 presidential elections after the two promised to fight corruption in Malawi.
During the Peter Mutharika administration, Chilima was also vice president but he was not being given work for about two years following his decision to quit the Democratic Progressive Party reportedly in protest against corruption.
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