Lilongwe CEO accuses mayor of ouster plot

Within the corridors of Lilongwe City Council, a big fight has erupted between two centres of power the office of Mayor Desmond Bikoko and that of chief executive officer (CEO) Moza Zeleza, Nation on Sunday can reveal.

The CEO has since written council members and the mayor complaining that the mayor is plotting, with councillors, to remove him, but Bikoko says the CEO is simply afraid of the performance assessment exercise his office has insisted on.

While Zeleza, as CEO, is the head of administration, Bikoko is the political head of the council and responsible for supervising Zeleza and the rest of senior council employees.

In a letter dated March 31 2017, addressed to the mayor and copied to councillors and the deputy mayor, the CEO alleges that Bikoko has been hosting meetings planning to remove him. In the letter, which Nation on Sunday has sourced, the CEO notifies the council of his intention to attend a full council meeting to address the rift with the mayor.

“You recall that yesterday I came to your office and informed you of reports that I have received alleging that you are personally championing an agenda to have me removed from office as CEO of Lilongwe City Council, largely for failing to implement council resolutions and undermining your development agenda in the three months you have been in office as mayor. My sources are highly reliable,” writes Zeleza.

In the letter, Zeleza reiterates his earlier call for mutual respect between the two offices and says it was ‘disturbing’ that the mayor wants to ‘ambush’ his office in such a manner. In an interview on Friday, Zeleza refused to comment on the wrangle, referring Nation on Sunday to the mayor.

“What is the mayor saying on this matter? Ask him first what he is saying. As for me, I don’t want to say anything on this matter, I don’t want to answer any questions,” said Zeleza.

But Bikoko, in a separate inter view, confirmed the misunderstandings with the CEO. He also confirmed receiving Zeleza’s letter.

Bikoko allegedly told Zeleza that the situation at the council is tense with the councillors’reportedly ‘charged’ on the matter, but he denied any involvement in the alleged plot.

However, Bikoko dismissed assertions that he wants to remove the CEO, saying the law does not empower him to do so, even if he wanted to.

Bikoko, however, admitted that as mayor he has been hosting councillors in his office who have also been pushing for changes in the performance of the council.

But he insisted that such gatherings have not been conspiring a coup. The development comes three months into Bikoko’s tenure as mayor.

Bikoko, who won a contentious election to rise to the position, hails from opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) while the CEO is a government appointee installed by the Local Government Ministry.

Lilongwe City councillors are almost evenly divided between the opposition and government sides.