AG changes tack on movesa deal

Barely three months after cancelling the number plates deal between the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services and a supplier, Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda now says he is “pursuing legal remedies” on the matter.

The new approach by government’s chief legal adviser, who cancelled the contract between Road Traffic and Motor Vehicles Spares and Accessories (Movesa) on importation and supply of retro-reflective blank number plates in June, comes amid jams in the production of road traffic documents, especially driver’s licence cards whose hitches officials have confirmed.

Besides being the country’s dominant supplier of number plates for decades, Movesa is also part of a consortium with Fischer called Fischer and Movesa Consulting that supplied and controls the Malawi Traffic Information System (Maltis).

Maltis processes driving licence cards, learners’ licence applications and authorisations, professional driving permit applications and authorisations, certificates of fitness as well as vehicle registration certificates.

In a written response yesterday, Chakaka-Nyirenda said he was pursuing “legal remedies” for the Fischer Movesa contract.

Drawing parallels with the botched electronic passport contract at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services his office initially cancelled only to renegotiate for continuation with the suppler TechnoBrain, he said: “I am still of the view that termination of these contracts was for the best interest of the country’s economic welfare and development because of post-annulment cost savings.”

Based on the AG’s advice, Road Traffic cancelled Movesa’s contract on the importation of blank number plates in June this year after the Competition and Fair Trading Commission found the  department guilty of uncompetitive conduct and fined it K500 000.

While Road Traffic wanted to challenge the commission’s decision, the AG advised against the move, opting to pay the fine and subsequently cancel Movesa’s contract.

The commission had faulted Road Traffic over the manner in which the contract on the importation of blank number plates was issued to Movesa following a complaint lodged by another supplier, Bulldog Spares and Suppliers.

Yesterday, Chakaka-Nyirenda said the current problems of documents processing at Road Traffic arise from the way such contracts are handled.

He said Fischer and Movesa Consortium have been holding onto Maltis even before he cancelled the deal.

The AG said Techno Brain behaved in a similar manner by holding on to passport consumables and booklets well before he attempted to terminate their contract.

He terminated Techno Brain’s passport contract with the Department of Immigration on December 7 2021 due to alleged poor handling of the contract.

But Chakaka-Nyirenda yesterday was adamant, stressing that such contracts have been benefitting “a few through bogus ways”.

He said: “We have so many contracts that will leave us poorer than before. With the TechnoBrain contract we will save over $25 million [about K25 billion] and gain over K36 billion by terminating the contract.

“I know there would be people that were benefiting from the Movesa contract and are sabotaging the process.”

Chakaka-Nyirenda did not give names neither did he elaborate how government would make the savings since the contracts are still running without alterations.

Meanwhile, what is clear is that the AG’s contracts termination moves leave Malawians stranded when accessing services at the two departments.

For instance, due to challenges faced with Maltis, people getting new or renewing their licences have not been getting licence cards in the previous month.

Road Traffic spokesperson Angelina Makwecha said on Tuesday that the directorate will issue a statement soon and that people have now started accessing the licence cards.

But our efforts to speak to consultant Gerrit Fischer yesterday proved futile as he could not be reached and neither did he respond to our WhatsApp message from his base in South Africa.

A five-month investigation by our sister newspaper Weekend Nation this year established that Road Traffic and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) cut corners to allow Movesa to be the sole supplier of the blank number plates.