Dear judge Mbadwa,

The most disheartening news, my lord, that I received was on the study that Mitundu University of Agriculture and Natural Resources did together with the Nyasaland Economic Consultative Association and Cowfam, highlighting that in just between 2012 and 2021, Nyasaland has lost K6 trillion due to poor management of public contracts.

Though it is depressing to hear how we continue to lose taxpayers’ money in such a manner, this is not something that Nyasas were not aware of.

My lord, how the system connives to defraud the government through delays in implementing projects to inflate costs is a trick they use adeptly.

It should be known the whole tendering process is just a charade to hide the real project costs.

My lord, I don’t remember a project that was completed without revising or inflating the costs.

Why people are getting away with such ‘murder’ amid calls of reforms is something that baffles me.

So, as I have argued before, the public service is a well-entrenched system that conspires with contractors and influential people to steal taxpayers’ money.

There are very few people of character in the Nyasaland government who would preserve their integrity when enticed by the corrupt.

Most Nyasas, especially in the public service, put personal interest above the national one so much that the word altruism does not exist in their vocabulary. It is this kind my

 lord that is ready to sell their soul to the highest bidder.

Imagine the kind of development K6 trillion would have brought in Nyasaland if it were put to better use.

Unfortunately, it ended in the pockets of a few people who shared it as if it were some deceased estate.

Regards,

John Citizen.

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