Deputy Chief Secretary to the Government Stuart Ligomeka’s appointment as Comptroller of Statutory Corporations has drawn mixed reactions bordering on efficiency and governance.
While stating that having the second top most civil servant in direct charge of statutory corporations could cut bureaucracy and improve efficiency, governance analysts have also highlighted that corporate governance could be compromised.
In a statement dated October 26 2025, Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi said the re-designation was necessitated by the need to strengthen oversight, coordination and strategic leadership of statutory corporations and State-owned companies.
“These entities play a critical role in advancing national development objectives, implementing government policies and ensuring effective utilisation of public resources,” he said.
Commenting on Ligomeka’s dual roles, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira yesterday observed that while the arrangement could help reduce bureaucratic delays and enhance policy coherence, it could also create governance challenges and weaken accountability mechanisms.
“Without strong transparency safeguards, such centralisation risks concentrating too much power in one office. It could entrench political influence over parastatals and undermine the professional autonomy of their boards and management,” he said.
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences governance specialist Andrew Kaponya said consolidating the functions can promote accountability and faster decision-making.
By virtue of the position, the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations is an ex-officio member of most parastatal boards. Ironically, the Chief Secretary also chairs boards of Electricity Generation Company of Malawi (Egenco) and National Oil Company of Malawi based on laws establishing the two.
Given this arrangement, Nocma and Egenco boards will have a situation where the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations and Chief Secretary will be together in the same boards.
As board chair of Egenco and Nocma, the Chief Secretary could also find himself answering to his Deputy Chief Secretary who now oversees parastatals, creating challenges in the chain of command and accountability lines.
Two months ago the Economics Association of Malawi trend analysis showed that many SOEs are depleting public wealth and increasing the government’s contingent liabilities.
The re-designation has come as part of government’s ongoing efforts to improve efficiency and financial performance within the SOE complex.
