Egenco executives get judicial review nod
Two Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) Limited top executives have obtained permission to start judicial review proceedings in the High Court of Malawi challenging the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) decisions that sustained their forced leave.
Egenco chief executive officer Engineer William Liabunya and director of corporate services and company secretary Videlia Mluwira want the High Court to review the decision of IRC chairperson Austin Msowoya, including taking over their matter from IRC deputy chairperson Peter Kandulu.
The two challenge Msowoya’s decision that instructed the assistant registrar not to issue a default judgement on an application to stop a forensic audit and investigation on how the company responded after two cyclones damaged infrastructure in 2022, leading to persistent and prolonged power rationing.
In granting permission for the judicial review, High Court Judge Mike Tembo ordered that the IRC proceedings be pended until the determination of the judicial review in the upper court.
“That in the meantime, proceedings under IRC matter number 695 of 2023 proceedings before the defendant are hereby stayed until determination of the matter or until a further order of the court,” reads the ruling in part.
The decision on the judicial review was announced yesterday when the IRC in Blantyre was expected to give direction on the matter following the rescission of an injunction which Liabunya and Mluwira, a lawyer, obtained in the same court.
IRC vice-chairperson Tamanda Nyimba said Msowoya could not make the statement on the same to preserve his neutrality and professionalism because the applicants are against his decision.
On October 30, Msowoya rescinded an injunction which Liabunya and Mluwira obtained on October 5 this year against a decision to send them on forced leave.
In letters dated October 3 2023 to Liabunya and Mluwira, Secretary to the Treasury MacDonald Mafuta Mwale, in his capacity as shareholder, said the forensic audit will investigate how Egenco responded after the two cyclones damaged infrastructure, leading to persistent and prolonged power rationing.
The decision comes after President Lazarus Chakwera, during the opening of the Malawi Bureau of Standards office complex and laboratory and Malawi International Trade Fair in Blantyre on May 17 2023, accused Egenco management of lack of urgency in the handling of the restoration of Kapichira Hydro-electric Power Station in Chikwawa, which took a year and three months to complete.
Tropical Storm Ana damaged infrastructure in January 2022, taking off about 129.6 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the national grid. However, Malawi Government waited until July 2022 to source $60 million on behalf of Egenco from the World Bank for the energy restoration project.
