Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) Board members, who the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament summoned to appear before it today over alleged incompetence, have snubbed the invitation.
Instead, the members have each written Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi, notifying him about their decision to resign from the board effective January 12 2026.
In the letters, the board members, Charles Kambauwa as chairperson, Tobias Chinkhwangwa as vice-chairperson, John Gift Mwakhwawa, Olivia Mchanju Liwewe, Bernadette Kalumo, Kettie Mkandawire and MacCider Katulukira, argue that the outcome of the scheduled hearing was predetermined.
The development follows a letter PAC chairperson Felix Njawala wrote the members on January 9 2026 informing them that OPC had requested the committee to confirm their removal on grounds of incompetence.
The PAC chair said the incompetence was in relation to the execution of their duties, which resulted in gross mismanagement of the board’s affairs and poor corporate governance practices.
But before meeting PAC, the board members have individually written Saidi, distancing themselves from the allegations and informing him of their decision to step down.
In his letter to Saidi dated January 12 2026, Kambauwa said he was appointed Mera Board chairperson in April 2025 and served for only a few months before the September 16 2025 General Election.
As such, he argued that it is factually and practically impossible that he could have been responsible for, or contributed to, any alleged long‑standing mismanagement or governance failures at the institution.
Reads the letter in part: “Any suggestion that I was incompetent in the performance of my duties as a board member is wholly unfounded and, with respect, untenable.
“Notwithstanding the above, it is evident from the government’s own actions—specifically, the appointment of a new board prior to formally removing the current one—that the decision to replace the board had already been made.”
Kambauwa argued that it serves no meaningful purpose for them to appear before the committee to respond to allegations whose outcome appears predetermined.
“In order not to waste the committee’s time or my own, I hereby resign as a member of the Mera Board with immediate effect.
“Consequently, I will not be attending the scheduled hearing before the Public Appointments Committee,” further reads the letter.
In a brief interview yesterday, Kambauwa confirmed that the whole board had resigned.
However, in a separate interview, Njawala said he was yet to be informed about the development while Deputy Chief Secretary to the Government Stuart Ligomeka confirmed having received a resignation letter from Kalumo.
“That is the only letter I received on Monday, but maybe there are others coming. I am not in office now and cannot know if they have arrived or not,” he said.
The decision by the Democratic Progressive Party government to appoint a new Mera Board last month came under scrutiny, with various players arguing that the move flouted the Mera Act.
According to Article 5 of the Mera Act, under Subsection (1), the President shall appoint members of the authority and each appointment shall be subject to confirmation by PAC while Article 7 provides that the tenure shall be three years.
It further states under Subsection (4) that in appointing members of the authority, the President shall have regard to the need for continuity of service so that at least half of the members of the authority appointed thereunder shall be reappointed for the next term of office.
Earlier, private practice lawyer Benedicto Kondowe, who also chairs the National Advocacy Platform, said appointing a new board barely months after PAC-approved appointments, without reappointment for continuity and without PAC confirmation, appears to depart from the clear safeguards in the Mera Act.
