Malawi's "Cashgate": The Budget Process as Theatre (Again)?
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Presentation by Blessings Chinsinga(Malawi Academic Freedom, and co-author of the recent CMI bookCorruption, Grabbing and Development: Real World Challenges (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014).
Only months before national elections, a major corruption case has been unfolding in Malawi. The "cashgate" scandal has led to a massive trial involving civil servants, politicians and businesspeople alleged to have looted public funds via a financial management system. More than USD 100 million is said to be missing from government coffers, and foreign donors (including Norway and the EU) have suspended aid until the matter is resolved. But the story goes further. A former justice minister has been charged with the attempted murder of an alleged whistle-blower in the case. President Joyce Banda has claimed the shooting was a planned attack to silence the government in the fight against corruption. But others claim the case represents a threat to her re-election hopes and that ordinary Malawians are angry at the massive looting of public funds.
Presenter:
Blessings Chinsinga, Lecturer, Malawi Academic Freedom, and a co-author of the recent CMI book Corruption, Grabbing and Development: Real World Challenges (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014) will reflect on the "Cashgate" case as it relates to how political elites obtain and retain power through rent management.
Discussants:
Lars G. Svåsand, Professor of Democracy and Development, Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen
Aranzazu Guillan Montero, Advisor, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre at the Chr. Michelsen Institute
Facilitator:
Aled Williams, Senior Advisor, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre at the Chr. Michelsen Institute
This event is organized by the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre at the Chr. Michelsen Institute and the University of Bergen.
Event photo: Chatham House