BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—The erstwhile Minister of Health Jappie Mhango and his fellow gurus of the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must brace for tough times as the Office of the Ombudsman has launched an investigation into alleged lack of accountability, responsiveness and accessibility of services and funds under the multi-billion kwacha National Coronavirus (Covid-19) Response Plan and other interventions.
Government launched a K157 billion preparedness and response plan to combat the spread of Covid-19, a strand of coronavirus in April and midway of the covid-19 fight ministers Jappie Mhango and Mark Botomani were heavily accused of swindling the funds.
Reacting, Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) had called for immediate resignation of both Botomani and Mhango, but Peter Mutharika administration did not heed to that.
Now, with the new president in office, the office of the Ombudsman has gained the much needed energy to probe the matter.
In a letter to Ministry of Disaster Management Affairs and Public Events Principal Secretary Elvis Thodi dated July 1 2020, Ombudsman Martha Chizuma has said her office had learnt about allegations of lack of accountability, accessibility and responsiveness in implementation of the plan; hence, the investigation.
She said the seriousness of the impact of the coronavirus need no emphasis and that any act of maladministration in the implementation of the response plan and management of the funds could result into loss of lives.
“In that regard, the office will be monitoring the Covid-19 activities planned by the public institution, the activities actually carried out, effectiveness of those activities and observing any legal, policy or best practice gaps in the implementation of the same.”
In her communication, the Ombudsman has stressed the need for pro-activeness to prevent any loss of resources and ensure value for money. She added that the planned interventions should also benefit the intended beneficiaries.
To ensure timely interventions, Chizuma said her office would be providing real-time reports of its investigations, clearly highlighting the positives and, where necessary, also making directives and recommendations on any finding of maladministration.
Department of Disaster Management Affairs spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula acknowledged receipt of the letter in an interview with the Nation, saying, they were already preparing a financial report on the same.
“We can confirm that we have received the letter from the Office of the Ombudsman requesting our office to furnish the Ombudsman with information to aid investigations into alleged lack of accountability for funds under the National Covid-19 Response operations.
“We realise that we are accountable to the public and all oversight institutions. We are going to honour the request made by the honourable Office of the Ombudsman.”
A leaked circular in Aprial showed that Ministers in the then Special Cabinet Committee on Coronavirus pocketed K450,000 while members of parliament carted home K350,000 as risk allowances per day after every meeting.