Malawi leader's portrait of greed:

July 17, 2005

Malawi leader's portrait of greed
Mark Macaskill








THE president of Malawi has been accused of commissioning dozens of portraits of himself at a cost of almost £500,000.

Bingu wa Mutharika is said to have squandered public money on the paintings, which have been hung in government offices and used as banners during political rallies.

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According to opposition leaders, Mutharika — who has been promised up to £3m in aid by Jack McConnell, the first minister — demanded the new portraits after he left the United Democratic Front (UDF), the party under whose banner he won the elections last May.

The allegation, which has prompted an official investigation, is the latest in a string of accusations of lavish spending made against the African leader, who is said to have ordered three Mercedes limousines for himself and his family at a cost of £850,000.

Last week it emerged that Mutharika had claimed that a series of articles in The Sunday Times highlighting serious human rights abuses in his country had cost him a place at the G8 summit in Gleneagles and also threatened the aid package promised by McConnell during his visit to the impoverished east African country earlier this year.

An opposition MP has demanded an explanation from the government as to why hundreds of thousands of pounds were wasted on new paintings.

“The government should justify why presidential portraits cost £450,000 at a time when millions of poor Malawians are facing hunger,” said Bertha Masiku, an opposition MP.

Ted Kalebe, chairman of the parliamentary committee on budget and finance, claimed that the ministry of information had exceeded its budget as a result of the commissions.

“The ministry was allocated £2m, but ended up spending almost £3m and the printing of portraits is one of the contributors to the over-expenditure,” he said. “The expenditure was unlawful because it was not budgeted for.”

Yesterday Mutharika denied the allegations and insisted the portraits had cost only £1,700.

He said that he had ordered an urgent investigation: “The anti-corruption bureau is working on this and I have demanded a report as soon as possible. The truth will come out and we will take very, very strict action if there has been any corruption. I can’t see how these portraits cost £450,000.”

Last month it emerged that Mutharika is facing impeachment on 11 different counts, including using public money to pay for his grandchildren’s education. It is also alleged that he illegally maintained two state residences when the national assembly was homeless and “failed to provide executive leadership in the interests of national unity” by “interfering” with other political parties.

Other charges relate to his sacking of senior members of the government, including the commander of the army and inspector-general of police.

The details emerged shortly after McConnell made a high-profile visit to Malawi, during which he praised Mutharika for his stand against corruption