[This example of Black African corruption is too funny… CIA Donor money is stolen by Black Intelligence agents. Although the sum of money may be small, in some of these African countries where the currency’s have become meaningless… this is a vast sum. Jan]

NIB in K2 Billion Scam

The Chronicle Newspaper (Lilongwe)

Hopkins Mundango Nyirenda And Chikondi Chiyembekeza
Lilongwe

Govt, CIA funds mismanaged

Eight officials of the disbanded National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) have been accused of mismanaging over K1.5 billion of taxpayer’s money through shady deals and falsified payments for services rendered to the intelligence entity over the short period of its existence.

A counter intelligence memo dated 23rd July, 2004, sourced by The Chronicle states that the money was swindled using bogus businesses owned by some personnel in the Bureau who awarded themselves contracts for supplying stationery and other services at highly inflated amounts.

According to the detailed leaked memo titled; “Activities of Accounts Personnel,” by one of the staff members addressed to the Director General of the Bureau Chitsulo Gama, when he was still in the office, indicates that the sum of money misappropriated “has reached over MK1.5 billion.”

“This is an extraordinary huge sum of money – to be investigated,” said the top employee in the memo.

The syndicate, according to the memo, left the bureau in “an awkward position to service debts to various clients including so many outstanding payments in allowances to the serving officers of the bureau dating back to the year 2001.”

Money in excess of US$50,000 (more than 53 million) which was donated by the American intelligence apparatus, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the purchase of motor vehicles was also mismanaged, according to the memo.

The funds, instead of being used to purchase brand new motor vehicles as budget for, were instead used to purchase second hand saloons whose actual price had little bearing on the actual cost of the ex Japan vehicles purportedly bought at an auction in Durban, South Africa.

“Further information reveals that during the budgetary allocation, it was agreed that seven drivers were to be given allowances for the task of ferrying the vehicles from Durban to Malawi but instead a shipping agent was contacted for the same,” the memo reveals.

The vehicles which were purchased included only seven which comprised two Toyota Corollas, two Nissan Sentras, one Toyota Cardina, one Toyota Sprinter and one Toyota Corona.

During the budget meetings for NIB, the memo further reveals, some creditors who were not given an allocation of payment for that month, ended up being awarded their cheques in contradiction with the arrangement made by the budgets committee.

“This clearly explains that they were effecting the payments while they were quite aware of the true beneficiaries who sometimes were their own close relations and spouses,” says the memo.

What raised the eyebrows, the memo says, is the involvement of one senior management director (Willy Chimbalanga, Director of Internal Security) who was tasked to undertake the whole purchase.

This, it says, could have let him to easily flout and engage in a fraudulent acquisition of some of the US dollars cash meant for the exercise.

The employee in the memo asks for further investigations into the matter which were never carried out.

The memo further says the personnel involved in the secretive cartel in the bureau include, Willy Chimbalanga, Director of Internal Security, R.

L. Banda, who held a P 7 grade in the bureau and headed the Accounting section, Charles Banda, W. Dissi, James Mkwate, Clerical Officer, Mrs. Mtimuni, Miss Chinchere and a Miss R. Kantambe.

“For instance, many of these officers own properties that are in contrast to their earnings as public servants,” the memo says.

When contacted to speak on his involvement in the shady procurement of the vehicles, Chimbalanga told The Chronicle that he was not involved because at that particular time (of procurement of the vehicles) he was outside the country.

“What happens is that there is an internal procurement committee that sits down and look into those matters,” he said adding, “That involves the directors and regional intelligence officers who make that decision.”

He suggested that The Chronicle talk to the Deputy Director General, a Mrs. Bunyani, as she is the one who was chairing that committee that was responsible for the pro-curement of goods and services in the bureau. He also said the director of finance was also respon-sible. Asked to comment on the fact that he has companies that supply goods to the bureau, Chimbalanga said that he only has one company called Bill Building Contractors and does not deal with the bureau.

Mrs. Bunyani and the finance director could not be reached for their comments.

President Mutharika early this year ordered the immediate closure of the bureau offices and sent all staff on a one month mandatory leave. The bureau was accused of still owing its allegiance to the former head of state Bakili Muluzi.

It was alleged that some sensitive information was still being fed to Muluzi instead of only going to the incumbent president Mutharika.

Date: January 31, 2005
Source: AllAfrica.Com
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200501311256.htm…/p>