A man called Bulldozer, the suitcases stuffed with cash and some very troubling questions over Scottish aid for Malawi
AMALAWIAN government minister who visited Scotland to ask for millions of pounds extra in foreign aid is being investigated for corruption – after suitcases stuffed with cash were found in his home.
George Chaponda, 74, has been forced to resign as minister for agriculture while officials investigate an alleged scam involving the supply of emergency food for the African country. A raid uncovered £180,000 hidden in his home.
The ongoing corruption probe has sparked concerns over possible abuse of the millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money sent every year to Malawi from Scotland.
Chaponda was welcomed to Scotland as a guest of the SNP. After meeting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick and the then International Development Minister Humza Yousaf, he wrote to thank Scotland for its ‘warm hospitality’. He also successfully lobbied for additional money from Scottish taxpayers.
Last night, critics said the corruption probe against Chaponda – known as ‘Bulldozer’ – should be a cause for concern.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers are fed up of seeing their money constantly lost to fraud or squandered overseas. What makes it worse is that the world’s neediest still go wanting while billions of pounds are wasted.
‘Foreign aid must be transparent, results-based and scaled back to help get our public finances back in shape.’
Scottish Tory external affairs spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: ‘The UK’s global aid system does fantastic lifesaving work, but it is important that the money we do send overseas is spent on those who are in need of it.
‘There needs to be a full investigation into this individual to ensure that no foreign aid has been misspent.’
Malawi – which has had close links to Scotland since the days of David Livingstone – is one of the world’s poorest countries, with three-quarters of the population living on less than £1 a day.
Every year, Scotland gives more than £3 million to fund relief and development projects there – a third of our foreign aid spending.
Money from Scotland is not directly given to the government of Malawi, but to charities and projects run by non-government organisations working there.
But the Malawian government has played an active role in developing the relationship between the two countries and encouraging Scotland to increase its aid payments.
In December 2014, Chaponda came to Scotland as Malawi’s foreign minister. He later wrote to Mr Yousaf to say his visit was proof of ‘the mutual bonds of friendship and co-operation that exist between Malawi and Scotland’ and outlined a proposal to increase aid project funding by more than £4 million.
The following year, the Scottish Government announced Malawi would be among the countries to benefit from a Climate Challenge Fund – although by a lesser amount than Chaponda had requested.
In January 2015, Mr Yousaf wrote to Chaponda: ‘Thank you for your complimentary remarks regarding your recent visit to Scotland.
‘It was a privilege to host your visit, which to my perspective attested to the bonds of friendship and co-operation between our countries and people.
‘How we can better integrate the priorities of the government of Malawi with the assessment process for future funding rounds could be an idea to be considered as part of the Scottish Government’s forthcoming review of our international development projects.’
In another letter, Mr Yousaf, following a visit to Malawi, wrote to Chaponda: ‘I hope that you will be able to return to Scotland soon, where I should be delighted to welcome you once again.’
IN early 2016, Kena Mphonda, the Malawian High Commissioner in London, wrote to Mr Yousaf asking for money to help Malawi’s food crisis, saying: ‘As a result of the maize production decline registered in 2015-16, the country’s food security situation is characterised by a large number of people in need of food assistance.’
He explained that the government was buying maize to alleviate the crisis, but added: ‘We would be most grateful for any assistance the Scottish Government may offer in this regard.’ Two months later, in April 2016, Chaponda became minister for agriculture. He gained the nickname ‘Bulldozer’ after saying at a political rally: ‘I have read some people are saying that I am not fit to be minister for agriculture because I am not a bulldozer. That is not true. I will work to ensure hunger ends in Malawi.’ He is now accused of corruption over the emergency supply of maize to millions of people at risk of starvation. Investigations were launched into a £28 million order of the crop by the state grain provider, the Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation, from a company owned by an associate of Chaponda. It was claimed the government was charged inflated prices – and that both money and grain went missing. In January, two probes, one set up by President Peter Mutharika and another by the parliament, recommended Chaponda be further investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for his role in the transaction. Shortly afterwards, his office was gutted by a mysterious fire that appeared to have started there. A subsequent raid by ACB staff found US$58,000 and 124 million kwacha – worth a total of around £180,000 – in cash in Chaponda’s house, packed into suitcases. They also removed mobile phones and documents. An official statement said: ‘The president has removed George Chaponda as agriculture minister with immediate
effect after he was found with millions of money at his residence.’ Chaponda is still vice-president of the Democratic Progressive Party.
The latest revelations follow a long campaign by The Mail on Sunday to uncover abuses of Britain’s £12 billion foreign aid spending.
Last year, we told how £3 million was given to China to increase ‘awareness’ of British football. We also revealed how £5.2million in foreign aid cash was splurged on a ‘branded media platform’ for Ethiopa’s version of the Spice Girls.
Last night, the Scottish Government and charities denied public money is given directly to Malawian ministers. A spokesman for SCIAF, one of four Scottish charities given funding to help the emergency Malawian food crisis last year, said: ‘Money from SCIAF for maize was used to buy it and it was then given to those in need.’
An Oxfam spokesman said: ‘The money provided food, water and vital support to over 420,000 people directly.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Scotland does its bit to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people. ‘Our funding goes directly to Scottish international development organisations to ensure the money produces the best possible outcomes for people in partner countries and the Scottish taxpayer. We do not provide direct funding to governments.’
A spokesman for Chaponda said he could not be reached as he was visiting development projects in a remote region of the country.