Zake zinayera! Mera boss Kachaje gets another three year contract amidst criticism
Henry Kachaje, chief executive officer (CEO) for of Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera), has his three-year contract renewed by government, a decision that has sparked criticism from Parliament and other commentators who argue it demonstrates impunity and a disregard for corporate governance principles.
Comptroller of Statutory Corporations Peter Simbani has confirmed that the Mera board passed a resolution to renew Kachaje’s contract for another three-year term.
He said Simbani: “The CEO wrote the board expressing his interest to have his employment contract renewed and the board met to consider the request and approved.”
But commentators have criticised the Mera board for double standards and for ‘‘its lack of ethics’’, which they believe erodes public trust in the institution by renewing the contract before resolving the controversy that surrounded Kachaje’s first contract.
On November 10 2021, the Ombudsman Grace Malera was set to release an investigative report nullifying Kachaje’s appointment as CEO following investigations her office conducted after it received reports that his appointment did not follow right procedures.
But as she was about to release the findings of her office’s investigations at a press briefing, the Mera Board served her with an injunction it had obtained minutes earlier.
The order, which was granted to Mera’s first board of directors, further prohibited the Ombudsman from pronouncing any decision of the subject matter until a determination of the matter by the court or a further order of the court.
The High Court also granted Mera Board leave to commence judicial review proceedings on the matter.
The Ombudsman complied with the injunction but leaked findings indicated Kachaje’s appointment did not follow proper procedures.
The Ombudsman then appealed to the Supreme Court to vacate the injunction the High Court had granted to Mera Board.
On May 2 2023, the Supreme Court sitting in Lilongwe dismissed the Ombudsman’s bid to vacate the order but it directed the High Court to deal with the substantive matters in an expedited manner.
But almost 15 months after giving direction, the High Court of Malawi is yet to move the case on the recruitment of Kachaje.
On Thursday, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee (PAC) Joyce Chitsulo, expressed ethical concerns regarding the renewal.
She said: “In my view, this was an opportunity for the board to recruit a new individual and resolve the issues surrounding Kachaje’s recruitment. However, it is beyond PAC’s authority to dictate these matters, especially since the issue is still pending in court.”
On his part, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director of the Willy Kambwandira also criticised the Mera board for its lack of ethics, which he believes erodes public trust in the institution.
He compared Kachaje’s situation to that of former National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) CEO Helen Buluma, who was dismissed following an Ombudsman’s determination that her recruitment did not follow right procedures.
Kambwandira argued that treating the two cases differently highlights double standards and high-level hypocrisy.
He said in an interview on Wednesday: “The government is wasting huge sums of taxpayers’ money training parastatals, boards, and CEOs on professional ethics every year, yet it fails to uphold these standards. Given that the Mera CEO is still under legal scrutiny, renewing his contract raises serious legal and ethical concerns. These costly decisions must be avoided.”
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