Africa-Press – Malawi. Transparency is not silence dressed up as a denial.” That blunt verdict from governance commentators has ignited fresh public anger after First Vice-President Jane Ansah rubbished claims that her impending UK trip will cost taxpayers K1.9 billion, yet declined to disclose what the trip will actually cost.
The Office of the Vice-President moved quickly on Tuesday to disown documents circulating on social media that allegedly detailed the budget for the December 26 to January 10 trip. The office labelled the documents “fake and misleading” and insisted the Vice-President remains committed to transparency and accountability.
But for critics, the statement only deepened suspicion.
Governance and accountability advocates say simply dismissing figures without publishing the authentic budget is not transparency—it is evasion. They argue that in a country choking under fiscal stress, secrecy around high-level travel is indefensible.
National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the government had missed a critical opportunity to calm public outrage.
“Transparency is not just about disputing a ‘fake budget’. It is about proactively disclosing the full cost, funding sources, approval processes and value-for-money justification,” Kondowe said.
“What we are seeing is reactive damage control, not openness.”
Economist Christopher Mbukwa of Mzuzu University was even more scathing, questioning the moral calculus behind such trips at a time when hospitals lack basic drugs and schools operate without classrooms.
“With the amounts spent on these trips, how many school blocks would be built? How many dialysis machines procured? How many cancer patients treated? How many farmers supported with fertiliser?” Mbukwa asked.
“The opportunity cost is enormous—and ordinary Malawians are the ones paying.”
Accountability expert Willy Kambwandira warned that refusing to disclose the real figures only fuels perceptions of entitlement and abuse of public resources.
“Trust is not demanded through press statements; it is earned through full, verifiable disclosure,” he said.
“Publish the official budget, clarify whether the trip is public or private, name who is paying for what, and subject it to parliamentary and audit scrutiny. Anything less undermines public confidence.”
Despite repeated follow-up questions, the Office of the Vice-President has remained mute on the actual cost, the passenger list, and the source of funding. The silence is particularly glaring given confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Ansah will be on a private visit during the stated period.
The controversy has been further inflamed by reports—yet to be officially denied—that the Vice-President will attend the 80th birthday celebrations of her husband, Bishop Joseph Addo Ansah, on January 3 while in the UK.
The episode has reopened uncomfortable comparisons with President Peter Mutharika’s recent “private visit” to South Africa, raising broader questions about how private trips by top leaders are financed, approved, and accounted for.
At a time when government preaches austerity and restraint to citizens, critics say the refusal to disclose costs sends a damaging message: that sacrifice is for the public, while privilege remains protected at the top.
As one commentator put it bluntly: “If there is nothing to hide, publish the figures. Silence is the loudest admission of all.”
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