While government still treats UTM Party president Dalitso Kabambe as a civil servant, it is failing to crack the whip on him following his participation in active politics which is contrary to the law.
In an interview yesterday, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said it remains government’s position that Kabambe is a civil servant as his appointment at Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) was on secondment.
Yet, government is dithering to act on his active involvement in politics despite both the Constitution and the Malawi Public Service Regulation (MPSR) prohibiting civil servants from doing the same.
For example, in September 2018, government fired George Saonda, who served as director of administration in the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and Chiza Mbekeani, who worked for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs as deputy director of administration.
Then Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Lloyd Muhara, in a letter to Mbekeani dated September 19 2018 reference number CS/S/001 that we saw, wrote that the services were no longer required because of his “active involvement in politics”.
While the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) has not responded to our enquiry, a senior government official has confided in us that following his election as UTM president last November, OPC is aware of this misconduct and the Secretary to President and Cabinet (SPC) is expected to make a decision on the matter.
Office of the SPC spokesperson Robert Kalindiza had not responded to our questionnaire by press time.
In the face of government indecision, according to our source, Kabambe can also opt for voluntary retirement having served for over 20 years in the civil service.
Our source said this was an unlikely alternative considering the unresolved issue of his contested contract at RBM, where he served as Governor and is seeking damages for what he considers unlawful termination of contract.
“He is unlikely do so [retire] considering that he has dragged government to court for termination of contract as RBM Governor. He sees more benefits on damages for the so-called termination of contract at RBM than the retirement package from the civil service,” said a source privy to the case.
Asked if retiring was an option in view of his role as a politician, Kabambe said all these issues are being contested at the Industrial Relations Court and his lawyer Marshall Chilenga was better-placed to provide details.
Chilenga said he could not comment on the matter since it is in court.
On the other hand, Namangale said Kabambe’s appointment and contract at RBM were illegal.
“Further, Dr. Kabambe was not appointed to the position of Governor, but he was rather seconded. Unlike with appointment, secondment, in scenarios where one is serving as a public officer is permissible under the laws of Malawi.
“Hence, our position is that his contract was not terminated, but he was rather de-seconded to the OPC. De-secondment is not unfair dismissal,” he added.
In 2017, then President Peter Mutharika appointed Kabambe as RBM Governor while serving as Secretary for Foreign Affairs in what government considers a secondment based on a letter dated April 28, 2017, signed by then Chief Secretary Lloyd Muhara.
“Your appointment as Governor shall be in line with the provisions of the Malawi Public Service Regulations [MPSR] relating to secondment. Under the secondment arrangements, the Reserve Bank of Malawi will be responsible for the salary and benefits applicable to the position of Governor for the entire period of your secondment. Your starting basic salary shall be K8 500 000 per month,” reads the letter which government banks on for its argument that Kabambe is a civil servant.
In another letter dated July 17 2020 signed by former SPC Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi, Kabambe was de-seconded and deployed to OPC as principal secretary (special duties).
In 2023, Nation on Sunday obtained a copy of one of the correspondences Kabambe exchanged with the OPC, where he stopped them from depositing his salary.
“Should government continue to pay me those salaries into this account, I will be forced to either close the account entirely or put a stop order to it,” he said in a letter dated 20 April 2023.
In 2021, government interdicted Kabambe following his arrest in connection with falsification of some documents in an alleged attempt to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Malawi was meeting performance benchmarks under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
