A year ago
Lazarus Chakwera, the president of Malawi, went full speed when he learned that his nation had conducted an audit of the expenditures made about some COVID-19 money. He caused heads to roll.
He said in a video that has since surfaced on social media that the acts were so extreme that one of them involved the instant dismissal of a crucial cabinet minister.
Other persons who were recognised as participating in unethical behaviour were also detained and had to pay back the money they stole.
Johnnie Hughes of TV3 uploaded a video of President Chakwera addressing his nation via video and outlining all the urgent measures he has put in place to make sure that all the "thieves" included in the report be brought to justice.
He clarified that although he shares his fellow people' rpeople's suffering, he would take steps to guarantee that all of the lost or stolen money is recovered.
There is nowhere on earth where these crooks will hide, I can guarantee you everyone. Reading this audit report has caused you all to feel agony and fury, and I share your legitimate wrath.
"And I'm acting now that the 6.3 billion's linked proof is in front of us. The Malawi Police Service has just detained over a dozen people who are accused of perpetrating the offencesoffensesd in this audit report as I speak," he stated.
Additionally, President Lazaru Chakwera issued a warning to all other members of the public service in the nation, telling them to exercise caution since, if proven guilty, they would face imprisonment.
He said that he had ordered the arrest of those officials who had been in charge of such corrupt behaviour.
"Therefore, I want all the thieves who are hiding in the civil service to take note of what I'm saying: if the evidence establishes that you were one of the thieves who stole COVID funds intended to save lives while hundreds of our citizens were dying from the disease, you will be sent to jail. Additionally, we will make sure that you make good on your theft by using the appropriate legal channels.
He said, "I have ordered the secretary to the president of cabinet to arrest those public servants under whose direct supervision a financial misconduct occurred."
The president also gave an explanation of his decision about his Minister of Labor, saying that he had made sure the official had paid back all of the money he had stolen.
Accordingly, he added, "I have removed the Minister of Labour from my cabinet. He was identified by the audit report as having wasted COVID monies totaling 613,000 on his expenses for a foreign vacation."
As the Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu, recently submitted a report on the audit of the Government of Ghana's COVID-19 expenditures for the period March 2020, Ghana is presently at a similar crossroads.
According to the report, the Ministry of Health spent GHC 20 million renovating a flat that it had rented for GHC 15 million.
Additionally, according to the study, budget support was used for approximately 50% of all COVID-19 expenditures, not the epidemic itself.
The audit report also revealed that Kojo Oppong Nkrumah's Ministry of Information paid its management and staff GH 151,500 in risk allowance despite the fact that they did not operate in the health industry.
However, Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has not yet offered any commentary or statements on the audit findings.
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