Civil society organisations that had threatened to take legal action over the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom)’s transformer procurement have made a U-turn after the State-owned utility reversed its earlier procurement decision.
The Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) and the Malawi Civil Society-Led Black Economic Empowerment Movement (Mablem) said they will no longer pursue legal action following ESCOM’s decision to withdraw its earlier intention to award the entire contract to Creck Hardware and General Suppliers.
Speaking on Thursday, HRCC and MaBLEM national coordinator Fryson Chodzi said the planned court action was aimed at ensuring that procurement laws were followed and that political interference did not influence the process.
“Our intention to go to court was to ensure there was no interference in the procurement process and that the law was followed.
“Now that the interference has been removed and lawful processes have been allowed to take their course, we see no need to proceed with legal action,” said Chodzi.
He commended President Peter Mutharika’s administration for allowing parastatals to operate independently, saying public institutions should be free from political influence to ensure transparency and efficient service delivery.
Chodzi also dismissed claims that awarding more than one government contract to a single company is unlawful.
“There is no legal prohibition against one company being awarded multiple contracts, provided all procurement procedures are followed and the process is above board.
“Many companies have held multiple government contracts before, and this should not become an issue simply because the company involved is locally owned,” he said.
He cited multinational construction firm Mota-Engil as an example of a company that has previously been awarded several public contracts.
“Companies that meet the required standards should be awarded contracts. Political interference undermines procurement integrity and ultimately affects the quality of public service delivery,” he added.
ESCOM’s reversal follows criticism over its initial decision to award the transformer procurement exclusively to Creck Hardware and General Suppliers.
In a public notice titled Intention to Award Contracts published on Thursday, ESCOM invited any objections or queries regarding its proposed award of contracts worth K12.24 billion for the supply of 33kV distribution transformers to be submitted by July 14, 2026.
The notice indicates that Creck Hardware and General Suppliers remains among the intended awardees under the revised procurement process.
