The Peter Mutharika administration continues to dither in appointing new boards six weeks after their dissolution, exposing them to what observers say are governance risks.
On Tuesday, Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC)—which disbanded the 77 boards and directed all board-related matters to its Department of Statutory Corporations—said the appointment process is complicated, but it will complete it “soon”.
In separate interviews, governance commentators Willy Kambwandira of Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency and Benedicto Kondowe of the National Advocacy Platform warned that the vacuum could cause problems for the organisations.
Some of the governance challenges that come with the absence of a board include weak strategic decision-making and ineffective oversight of management.
The governance void might also trigger compliance failures in the organisations while exposing them to financial risks, reputational damage and legal pitfalls.
These potential problems are avoidable with prudent handling of board dissolutions and replacements, according to Kambwandira.
He said the dissolution of boards across all parastatals without immediately appointing replacements reflects poor foresight and weak governance planning, urging President Mutharika to fast track the appointment of credible, independent and technically competent board members.
Said Kambwandira: “Our concern is that further delays to constitute the boards risk creating a breeding ground for corruption and Executive capture of the SOEs [State owned enterprises]. In the absence of boards, the Executive may exercise undue influence in the operation of parastatals and we have already started seeing this.
“The situation has created open space for politically motivated appointments. We have also seen that the dissolution of boards has triggered a freeze of major procurements and recruitment processes and this has choked off delivery of essential services.”
One of the cont rover s ia l appointments done without the board after dissolution was of Felix Tambulasi as Commissioner General of Malawi Revenue Authority on October 27.
At the time, legal minds such as University of Malawi law Profes sor Gar ton Kamchedzera dismissed the MRA appointment as irregular, arguing that the President acted outside the limits of his authority and flouted due process.
But Attorney General Frank Mbeta argued that there was nothing wrong with Tambulasi’s appointment, saying the move was necessary because the institution has no board, which would ordinarily be responsible for recruiting and confirming the Commissioner General.
In a separate interview on Tuesday, Kondowe—another governance commentator— said the prolonged absence of boards in SOEs and other statutory bodies creates a serious governance vacuum.
He noted that the boards are the primary oversight bodies responsible for strategic direction, financial stewardship, approving major decisions and holding management accountable.
Said Kondowe: “Without them, power becomes centralised in ministries, weakening internal controls, slowing decision-making and increasing the risk of procurement abuses, political interference and unaccountable spending. It also means many institutions are operating without the governance structures their mandates require, which affects compliance, service delivery and overall public trust.”
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito said the delay is eroding good governance in parastatals.
Kapito, who has sat on several boards before, said government should expedite the appointments as in the absence of boards, some irregular decisions may be made.
However, in an interview on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Justin Saidi said there are several players to be consulted before boards are constituted, adding that government is taking time and ensuring that the right people are picked “soon”.
Quizzed on how soon this may happen, he asked Malawians to be patient as the process is almost complete.
Said Saidi: “Some boards require that they go through the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament and we have to be careful when making the appointments. We also have ministries that have to be included in the appointments of the boards.
“We have to follow every process and we are certainly doing that. Each board is specific and we want to make sure that we appoint the right people in these positions. We are almost there.”
In dissolving the boards last month, OPC said the purpose was to restore fiscal discipline and align the entities with the new administration’s governing vision.
Even then, there were calls for quick replacement of the boards to avoid oversight vacuum.
