Mera board approves CEO Kachaje’s contract extension

Government has renewed the three-year contract of Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) chief executive officer (CEO) Henry Kachaje, a decision that has sparked criticism from Parliament and other commentators who argue it demonstrates impunity and a disregard for corporate governance principles.

In an interview on Wednesday, Comptroller of Statutory Corporations Peter Simbani confirmed that the Mera board had passed a resolution to renew Kachaje’s contract for another three-year term.

He said Simbani: “The CEO wrote the board expressing his interest to have his employment contract renewed and the board met to consider the request and approved.”

But commentators have criticised the Mera board for double standards and for ‘‘its lack of ethics’’, which they believe erodes public trust in the institution by renewing the contract before resolving the controversy that surrounded Kachaje’s first contract.

On November 10 2021, the Ombudsman Grace Malera was set to release an investigative report nullifying Kachaje’s appointment as CEO following investigations her office conducted after it received reports that his appointment did not follow right procedures.

But as she was about to release the findings of her office’s investigations at a press briefing, the Mera Board served her with an injunction it had obtained minutes earlier.

The order, which was granted to Mera’s first board of directors, further prohibited the Ombudsman from pronouncing any decision of the subject matter until a determination of the matter by the court or a further order of the court.

The High Court also granted Mera Board leave to commence judicial review proceedings on the matter.

The Ombudsman complied with the injunction but leaked findings indicated Kachaje’s appointment did not follow proper procedures.

The Ombudsman then appealed to the Supreme Court to vacate the injunction the High Court had granted to Mera Board.

On May 2 2023, the Supreme Court sitting in Lilongwe dismissed the Ombudsman’s bid to vacate the order but it directed the High Court to deal with the substantive matters in an expedited manner.

But almost 15 months after giving direction, the High Court of Malawi is yet to move the case on the recruitment of Kachaje.

On Thursday, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee (PAC) Joyce Chitsulo, expressed ethical concerns regarding the renewal.

She said: “In my view, this was an opportunity for the board to recruit a new individual and resolve the issues surrounding Kachaje’s recruitment. However, it is beyond PAC’s authority to dictate these matters, especially since the issue is still pending in court.”

On his part, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director of the Willy Kambwandira also criticised the Mera board for its lack of ethics, which he believes erodes public trust in the institution.

He compared Kachaje’s situation to that of former National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) CEO Helen Buluma, who was dismissed following an Ombudsman’s determination that her recruitment did not follow right procedures.

Kambwandira argued that treating the two cases differently highlights double standards and high-level hypocrisy.

He said in an interview on Wednesday: “The government is wasting huge sums of taxpayers’ money training parastatals, boards, and CEOs on professional ethics every year, yet it fails to uphold these standards. Given that the Mera CEO is still under legal scrutiny, renewing his contract raises serious legal and ethical concerns. These costly decisions must be avoided.”

Court documents show that in its application made on November 22 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman argued that according to Section 123 (2) of the Constitution, the judicial review sought by Mera was premature and not supported by law.

The Office of the Ombudsman had argued that it had not yet released its determination on the hiring saga; hence, Mera could not seek a review at that stage.

But in its submissions to the court, Mera argued that permission to commence judicial review proceedings was properly granted and argued that the Ombudsman did not have jurisdiction to inquire into the legality or procedural correctness of Kachaje.

The parastatal also argued that there was an available remedy through the judicial system to challenge such an appointment if it was done illegally.

High Court and Supreme Court acting registrar Innocent Nebi was unreachable on his contact yesterday.

Interview scores recorded in the court file show that Kachaje scored 89.83 percent, followed by Engineer Alfonso Chikuni with 78.08 percent. Ishmael Chioko ranked third with 76.42 percent, Damien Kafoteka was fourth with 73.58 percent, and Richard Chapweteka came fifth with 73.42 percent.

The list also shows that Charity Musonzo was sixth with 70.92 percent, Linda Phiri seventh with 66.92 percent, and Ted Nakhumwa emerged eighth with 57.42 percent.

Court documents indicate that Mera stated Kachaje holds a master’s degree in business administration, an international postgraduate certificate in business consulting and organisational management, and a diploma in downstream petroleum management, among other qualifications.

In a telephone interview on Thursday, Mera board chairperson Reckford Kampanje referred this reporter to the secretary of the board Dad Chinthambi, who also referred me to Mera spokesperson Fitima Khonje who asked for more time. She had not responded as we went to press. n