MP Bisnowaty hits at ‘rotten apples’ in civil service: Probe ‘travel allowance Cashgate’
Member of Parliament for Lilongwe City Centre, David Bisnowaty, has said there should be a travel sanctions for civil servants in the next six months due to economic challenges and that government should investigate what he calls “travel allowances cashgate”.
In his contribution to the State of the Nation Address presented by President Peter Mutharika last Friday, Bisnowaty said Malawi is spending “unprecedented billions of kwachas” on internal and external travels by our civil servants.
He said: “In my view, we can and must cut or even temporarily abolish these travels altogether. This is one of the keys to turning around our economic situation as fast as possible,” said Bisnowaty, an independent MP.
He told parliament that many civil servants are busy travelling inside and outside Malawi and they are “spending less and less time in the offices performing their duties.”
Said Bisnowaty: “It is a well-known fact that the overall performance of our public servants these days leaves a lot to be desired as compared to the past.”
He continued: “I am aware of several travel bans that various governments put in the past. This started all the way back to President Bakili Muluzi’s UDF-led government and all the subsequent governments. It is most unfortunate that these government instructions on travel ban are widely ignored by these civil servants. Very often, we read about travel allowances that have been claimed for no travel at all.
“There is in fact a travel allowance Cash-gate that we must investigate thoroughly following the travel bans which have been ignored all along in the past years. This way, we would be killing two birds with one stone.”
Bisnowaty also expressed concern that the civil service is not disciplined as it was in the past.
“This lack of discipline persists and is in fact, getting worse. Therefore, there is a definite need to take vigorous action to restore discipline.
“ We need to and must reform the public service because it plays a major role in the much needed revival of our economy,” he said.
He was however quick to point out that “there are many dedicated and hardworking officers in the civil service” but that there are “a few rotten apples”.
Said Bisnowaty: “The ones that are working hard deserve a recommendation and recognizing. The civil service which is blotted by ghost and incompetent workers can and must be trimmed and they must be trimmed now.
“ Once we remove the rotten apples, we should be able to look after and care for the smaller number of dedicated civil servants better. This means improving conditions of civil servants, which in turn, will increase productivity.”
He called for tabling of a motion in parliament to ban all internal and external travel by civil servants, including lakeside seminars.
Bisnowaty also observed that even ‘fully funded’ trips, government tops up with US$50 per day about K28,000 on the funded trip allowance.
“Further, government also continues to pay salaries to officers on the days that they are absent from office.”
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Zoona, this Mp is useless. If he serious wit what he is talking why is he accepting to get allowances while he sleeping at his house. Nafenso Amalawi kutengeka.
I’m afraid, the MP is focusing on an easy target, the civil servants. I feel sorry for civil servants, who are lowly paid. If Bisnowatty cares about the wanton expenditure he should first question the President for travelling to New York and all over the world with bloated entourage of people who are not even civil servants! The MP should also question the wisdom of spending K90 million on an official car of just one public official. At K500 thousand a month, this money can cater for salaries of 15 middle rank civil servants for the whole year! At that… Read more »
I would love to agreeing withthe mp when it comes to cashgate allowances. how can u disimburse a 5 day allowance, yet u fully know it is a one night worth? how do camp outside your offices, draw allowances for work which would rightly be done in offices? how can u share allowances to people just sitted and working in their offies. how? the mp is right! a lot of resources being wasted in gvt. action please!
bizinowate why are u receiving allowances when u are operating from home to parliament? fotseki.
Hahahahaha one can easily pick out comments from the thieving civil servants in this article. This means MP David Bisnowaty is right. Please government listen to what the MP is saying. Just read the comments here, it is evident that the MP is right. Kuba musiye. Among the civil servants I think it’s only the teachers that are not part of this robbery.
Bisnowarty, please be serious with life in Malawi. In case you don’t know how much civil servants get as a salary,most of them their salaries are around K50,000 per month. Bisnowarty please keep quite, may be you have forgotten that you are also stealing from the government with your substandard products and services from your companies (SADM & Medical Consult Africa), may be you have forgotten that in 2013 you supplied rotten drugs to Malawi government, in case your memory is also rotten: you serviced CT/Xray Scanner at KCH and it only worked for two weeks and you are demanding… Read more »
Kkkkkkkk biznowateeeee
mawu ambiri ndiribe here are my formula for turning around economy in Malawi: •Reduce no of constituencies from 193 to 50 with all district represented by 1 mp + ward councillors including abolishing Lilongwe city constituency which belong to Bisnowy. •Increase salaries of civil servant by 200% and improve there living conditions. •Introduce federal system of government in all regions •Come 2019 vote out DPP to bring donor confidence •All cashgate suspects should be imprisoned without being formal procedure •All activists shouting without solution should be silenced indefinitely. •If government doesn’t listen to its people should be axed for its… Read more »
Ndalama zimathera ku DCs offices.Too much corruption
Moderator please remove some of the comments on this article. People should learn to address issues and not to demean personalities. How will obscenities resolve the different sides of the issue? Thanks.